Underground: 14,000 illegals in Sweden disappear without a trace

Special to WorldTribune.com

Swedish police have admitted they have lost track of more than 14,000 illegal immigrants.

“We simply don’t know where they are,” Patrik Engstrom, head of the national border police told The Local. “It is a huge task and it is completely dependent on the police being allocated resources.”

Immigrants make up 16 percent of Sweden's population, most of them from the Middle East and Africa.
Immigrants make up 16 percent of Sweden’s population, most of them from the Middle East and Africa.

At the end of October, Sweden’s Migration Agency informed 21,748 illegal immigrants that they had to leave the country. Of those, 14,140 are now listed as “departed” or “wanted.” Most are believed to have gone underground to avoid deportation after Sweden ended its “open door policy” for refugees.

Police officials say most of their resources are spent on carrying out passport checks since border security was increased after a wave of Middle Eastern and African immigrants flooded Europe.

Observers say most of the illegals have avoided deportation due to the Dublin Regulation, in which immigrants are sent back to the first European Union country they entered.

If the illegals are able to delay their re-applications by 18 months they may be allowed citizenship in Sweden.

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