Denmark unveils legal reform to allow the worst foreign criminals to be deported

Denmark unveiled a legal reform on Friday allowing foreigners who have been sentenced to at least one year of unconditional imprisonment for serious crimes to be deported.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the measure would affect any foreign national convicted of serious offences, such as aggravated assault and rape, though she acknowledged the idea — part of a series of legal changes — could conflict with European human rights conventions.

Denmark will also tighten controls on foreigners without legal residence, introduce a new anklet monitor for criminal foreigners, reopen an embassy in Syria, and strengthen cooperation with authorities in Afghanistan.

Frederiksen told a news conference that the government was acting “unconventionally” and was amending legislation rather than waiting for court rulings on deportation cases.

Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.

“Many of us find that hard to understand,” he told the news conference.

The announcement comes as the EU — which counts Denmark as a member — has been grappling with integration of foreign nationals and migrants and stiffening its legal arsenal.

Last month, the 27-member country bloc began finalizing an overhaul of its migration system, including tougher restrictions on accepting asylum claims.

Many hard right-wing groups and political parties in Europe, and beyond in the Western world, have expressed growing anger over what they see as an undesired surge of immigration in recent years.