EU Tightens Migration Controls with New Asylum Rules in June

The European Union is tightening migration controls after years of failing to deport most migrants ordered to leave. A top official said the bloc now seeks to get control back ahead of sweeping new asylum rules set for June.

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said deportations have risen and new border screening systems spot potential security threats. These steps address enforcement gaps that have drawn criticism from the United States and fueled political pressure in Europe.

Ten years ago, we didn't have a system. We didn't have control over what is happening and who would come into the European Union and who would have to leave again, Brunner told reporters Tuesday in Washington, D.C. And that's why the member states agreed on the pact for asylum and migration. And now that's what we want to get back. We want to get control back.

The shift follows years of criticism from Washington. President Donald Trump has warned migration is destroying Europe and called the situation a horrible invasion.

Return rates have improved from roughly one in five to nearly 30 percent, Brunner said, but the system has struggled to keep up. Eurostat data shows only about one-quarter to one-third of migrants ordered to leave the EU are actually returned, leaving most in Europe.

The EU's migration and asylum pact, set for June, will speed asylum decisions, shift more processing to external borders and expand return mechanisms.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has criticized mass migration and open borders policies. Vice President JD Vance has warned Europe risks civilizational suicide without border control.

Vance cited high-profile crimes by migrants, including a terrorist stabbing of two Jewish men in London by a Somalia-born British man. Authorities warn of rising radicalization and possible foreign-backed threats.

Under the new system, irregular migrants face screening at EU external borders, biometric and security checks, and asylum decisions within weeks. Rejected applicants go to fast-track deportation.

The measures expand safe third countries for returns outside the EU to speed removals.

New entry-exit tracking and real-time data sharing help identify border risks, Brunner said. Out of these 30,000, we had 750 people who actually posed a security threat to the European Union. Improved data sharing lets member states flag such individuals in real time.

Brunner said European officials have not communicated migration policies enough and now aim to explain them better to U.S. counterparts.

Officials link migration enforcement to national security, including Russian and Belarusian efforts to weaponize migrant flows. The Russians and the Belarusians are using people, using migrants, as a weapon against the European Union, he said, citing pressure along the Polish-Belarusian border as hybrid warfare.

Global conflicts, including those involving Iran, raise radicalization concerns, though no clear migration surge has appeared.

The tougher approach seeks to maintain public support for legal migration and asylum. If you want to get the support of the people in Europe, then they must have the feeling that we have control of what we're doing, Brunner said. People in Europe will only accept continuing and granting asylum if they are sure that the system is not abused.