Immigration 2/3 of Swiss voters in favour of tougher asylum regulations

[Maciamo]

This Sunday a referendum asked Swiss people whether asylum and immigration laws should become (much) stricter than they were so far. Over 2/3 of the voters answered favourably, which will give Switzerland some of the thoughest laws in Europe in that matter.

DW : Swiss Back Tougher Asylum Laws

Almost 70 percent of Swiss voters backed moves making it easier to send rejected asylum seekers home, as well as lengthen periods of detention for potential deportees and cut financial aid to people whose claims are turned down.

The same percentage approved new immigration legislation that aims to overcome what supporters say is a lack of integration of many legally resident foreigners in Swiss society.
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Like some of his European counterparts, Blocher -- a politician from the right-wing Swiss People's Party -- claims that many document-less asylum seekers turn up empty-handed deliberately to make it more difficult to send them home or investigate claims of persecution.

To counter such alleged trickery, the new law would require all asylum seekers to present documents within 48 hours of making a claim, and severely restrict applications from people who cannot present any identification.
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The new rules would also cement tight restrictions on financial support for rejected asylum seekers who have been in place for two years. Authorities would be able to place "recalcitrant" foreigners in detention for 18 months -- rather than the current nine months -- prior to deportation to ensure they do not go underground, and to encourage them to leave.

Surveys conducted in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and UK recently showed that even more people there would support a similar move (see thread).

Naturally, stricter laws in Switzerland will mean more asylum seekers in other European countries, unless the rest of Europe follows suit.