Tony Haddou (V): One vote from your party would have been enough
This is a debate article. It is the writer who stands for the opinions expressed in the text, not Aftonbladet.
Published 2026-03-22 06.30
DEBATE. All parliamentary parties, even the Sweden Democrats, now claim that they want to stop teenage deportations. Despite that, young people who have taken root in Sweden are still threatened with deportation. I know this because I meet them, shake their hands, look them in the eye, and listen to their hopes and fears.
After massive criticism from the public and its own members, the government and the Sweden Democrats called a press conference. In front of the entire Swedish people, they claimed that teenage expulsions would be paused until they had time to investigate the law. But the government’s break only applies to the young people who have not yet received a decision. Everyone who has already received their sentence must still be deported and the migration court tells Aftonbladet that they are not covered by the break.
It is a pure lie
Political posturing does not help all the young people who have received unreasonable and inhumane deportation decisions. Sisters Donya and Darya were studying to become nurses when they received a deportation order as an 18th birthday present. Now they are stuck in war Iran. It is about real people who are deeply rooted in Sweden, who study or work, who spend their whole lives in Sweden. It is about our children’s friends, our neighbours’ children, our young friends and our colleagues who are at risk of being deported to countries where they have no family, which in many cases they have never even visited.
At the same time sitting Simona Mohamsson in Nyhetsmorgon and says that she has stopped teenage deportations. It is a pure lie.
A united opposition voted last week to stop this. Not a break. A stop. There was a single vote missing for the proposal to pass. If Simona Mohamsson had wanted to stop teenage deportations, a vote from her party would have been enough. The same applies to every single one of the members from the Tidö parties who voted against.
The teenage deportations have taken place because of political decisions. The Tidö parties have had such a zeal to make it more difficult for people to stay in Sweden that they have not cared about the consequences. The reforms have been categorical, hasty and inhumane. This is what has led us to where we stand today. That the Tidö parties now understand their mistake is obvious, but it is less obvious that they are willing to do what it takes to stop these unreasonable deportations of young people. The government wanted order and order in migration policy, but instead they have created a big mess – and it must now be sorted out.
Emergency situation for young people and their families
Because while the Tidö parties drag out the issue in an attempt to escape the storm of criticism, the deportations continue. Families being torn apart cannot wait for the government to come back with a valve. Young people who are on the brink of having their future shattered cannot put their hope in the government’s valve to include them. On the contrary, the government is leaning on an investigation that would lead to more teenage deportations, not fewer. Therefore, the deportations of teenagers must be stopped immediately. For the young people and their families, the situation is urgent.
We will continue to fight to stop teenage deportations, something that all parties claim they want, but which half of the Riksdag has just voted against. We know that we have public opinion on our side in this matter, an overwhelming majority of the Swedish people are against the young people being deported. But with every day and week that this drags on, young people are left with uncertainty about their future, or even face deportation.
All teenage deportations must be stopped, now.
Tony Haddou (V) migration policy spokesperson
