The Danish parliament has approved a controversial proposal to confiscate asylum seeker's valuables to pay for their upkeep. Now authorities will be able to seize migrants' cash and individual items if they exceed $1,450 in value - a measure that backers of the proposal said is necessary to cover housing and food costs and keep them in line with jobless Danes.
The proposal's approval was almost a given, since Social Democrats, the primary opposition of the right-wing minority that presented bill, along with two small right-wing parties, backed the measure, according to the AFP.
And as expected, despite some opposition, the bill was passed with an overwhelming 81 to 27 majority vote in just under four hours.
"There's no simple answer for a single country, but until the world comes together on a joint solution (to the migrant crisis), Denmark needs to act," MP Jakob Ellemann-Jensen of Rasmussen's Venstre party said during the debate.
With the policy in place, supporters of the bill say the policy brings migrants in line with jobless Danes, who must sell assets above a certain level to claim benefits.
"All Danish citizens and refugees coming here receive universal health care; you receive education from preschool to university, and you receive elderly care; you receive language training and integration training free of charge, paid for by the government," Jensen said of the proposal, according to CNN.
"The only demand that we set to measure this is if you have the means to pay for your housing and for your food - regardless of whether you are a Dane or whether you are a refugee - then you should," he asserted.
Those opposing the bill were not convinced of its intentions however, saying the measures would cause more harm than anything else.
"The decision to give Danish police the authority to search and confiscate valuables from asylum seekers sends damaging messages in our view," UNHCR spokesman Adiran Edwards said before the vote, according to the BBC. "It runs the risk of fuelling sentiments of fear and discrimination rather than promoting solidarity with people in need of protection."
Social Democrat Dan Jorgensen addressed such concerns, challenging opponents of the bill to find a viable alternative.
"The alternative is that we continue to be (one of) the most attractive countries in Europe to come to, and then we end up like Sweden," he warned, referencing the fact that Sweden received more than 160,000 migrants, compared to Denmark's 18,000 in 2015.
