The University of Oxford’s Border Criminologies blog today published a detailed critique of the EU’s newly adopted Return—or ‘Deportation’—Regulation, warning that the law dramatically widens grounds for immigration detention, raises maximum confinement to 30 months and removes an upper limit altogether for people deemed security risks. Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) told the authors that Belgium already struggles with under-resourced detention centres where detainees must pay for phone calls. Under the new rules, such facilities could face lengthier stays and harsher separation regimes, exacerbating rights-deficit conditions documented by Belgian civil society. The Regulation dovetails with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, in force since June 2026, and empowers member states—Belgium included—to presume a “risk of absconding” for migrants lacking stable housing or finances. Belgian lawyers fear this could translate into broader use of closed centres near Brussels Airport and at Merksplas, increasing legal-aid caseloads and compliance costs for employers whose work-permit appeals stall when staff are detained. Human-rights critics highlight Belgium’s own detention track-record: 26 percent of detainees in 2025 were released after courts found removal unrealistic, suggesting prolonged confinement under the new regime may be both costly and ineffective. Corporate mobility teams must now factor in heightened detention exposure when seconding third-country nationals awaiting permit renewals. The European Commission insists the Regulation will streamline returns and relieve reception-system pressure. Yet without additional safeguards or Belgian investment in alternatives to detention—such as community-reporting schemes—business immigration advisers anticipate reputational risks for Belgium’s talent-attraction agenda.
Source: Oxford Law Blogs
