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Several far-right parties and politicians in Europe have stirred controversy after proposing the creation of police units in their countries similar to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
ICE enforces U.S. federal laws on border control, customs, trade and immigration. The agency has faced intense criticism in recent weeks after the killing of two American citizens by its agents as part of a Trump administration campaign to deport undocumented immigrants.
However, this situation has not prevented the Bavarian branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the Flemish far-right party Vlaams Belang in Belgium from proposing similar structures in their countries.
In January, the Bavarian wing of the AfD announced that it would present to the regional parliament a plan to create a police unit focused on deporting migrants who have entered Germany illegally. According to German media, an internal party document envisages additional measures to limit irregular immigration.
"In addition to state-organized deportation flights, we are demanding the establishment of an asylum, investigation and deportation unit within the Bavarian police ," said Katrin Ebner-Steiner, the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in Bavaria. The Bavarian police union responded by stressing that there is no legal basis for the establishment of such a unit.
In Belgium, the Vlaams Belang is expected to present a proposal for a similar structure in the coming days. MP Francesca Van Belleghem rejected the comparison with ICE, arguing that the Belgian unit would remain part of the existing police force and not a separate federal agency. However, according to the details made public, the plan foresees specialized officers in each police district, full units in large cities and border areas, as well as active actions to identify migrants without regular status.
“ Instead of just registering illegal immigrants when they are caught by chance, the unit will actively search for people without legal status ,” Van Belleghem told POLITICO, adding that national proposals are not dictated by the international context.
In France, the founder of the far-right Reconquête party, Éric Zemmour, did not rule out the idea of an ICE-like force during a television interview with BFMTV. He stressed that such a model would have to fit with French institutions.
According to POLITICO, these proposals have provoked strong reactions from political opponents. German Green MEP Damian Boeselager declared that the promoters of such ideas “have stepped outside the democratic spectrum.” While Manon Aubry, co-chair of the Left in the European Parliament, warned that normalizing the ICE model in political debate would pose a risk to democratic values.
Political scientist Laura Jacobs from the University of Antwerp said that some far-right parties avoid direct links to US President Donald Trump for image reasons, but essentially refer to a similar police model. According to her, this trend is related to the normalization of harsher attitudes towards immigration in Europe.
Meanwhile, the European Union has strengthened its migration policies to curb the rise of far-right parties. Last month, the European Commission presented a five-year migration strategy, stressing the need for more assertive diplomacy with third countries to prevent irregular entries and facilitate the return of citizens who do not have the right to stay in the EU.
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