What happened
The writer Per Demérus proposes in an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter that Migrationsverket should introduce a moratorium, meaning a temporary pause, on deportations.
According to the writer, today's deportations do not primarily affect criminals, but people who work, study, and have family in Sweden.
He points out that the opposition wants to stop these deportations, but that legislative changes in the Riksdag take time.
A decision by Migrationsverket to pause deportations would apply until new regulations come into effect, according to the proposal.
Our analysis
The proposal in Dagens Nyheter stems from a reasonable frustration. New Swedes who work, pay taxes, and build their lives here are today being uprooted and sent away. The rhetoric from the Tidö parties is always about deporting criminals. The reality is that the system targets people who uphold Swedish healthcare and services.
However, asking Migrationsverket to introduce a pause on its own misses the mark. Swedish public authorities are bound by applicable law. They cannot choose to disregard directives and regulations simply because the outcome is unreasonable. That idea shifts responsibility away from the politicians who actually make the laws.
It is the government and its support party that have decided that more people should be deported and that requirements should be tightened. Hoping for bureaucratic mercy lets those in power off the hook. If deportations are to be stopped, political decisions in the Riksdag are required, not a hope that civil servants will rebel against their instructions.
Explained
A moratorium means temporarily stopping or pausing an ongoing activity or the enforcement of decisions for a certain period of time.