Deportation requests jump 242% across three Swedish cities

Prosecutors’ requests to deport defendants rose by 242% across Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö in September compared with the same month last year, following Sweden’s wider duty to seek expulsion. The increase measures requests, not court decisions or completed deportations.

Dagens Nyheter reported the figures on Sunday. In Malmö, the number of defendants facing a deportation request rose from nine to 34; Stockholm’s four prosecution offices recorded a fourfold increase.

The national rules took effect on 1 September. Prosecutors must seek deportation in qualifying cases involving a penalty more severe than a fine, rather than first deciding themselves whether a request is likely to succeed.

Liselott Herschend, who wrote the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s legal guidance, told DN that many requests would not be granted. Courts still decide whether the legal grounds for deportation outweigh the grounds against it, including ties to Sweden.

In its April parliamentary motion, the Centre Party opposed the mandatory duty, warning that prosecutors would have to make requests that courts would reject, increasing delays and costs.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell says the rise is expected and reflects the reform’s aim of expelling more convicted non-citizens. Its effect on actual deportation orders remains unclear because the cases have not yet been decided.

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