Finland’s parliament has passed a law allowing border guards to intercept illegal immigrants from Somalia and Iran, who are crossing the border into Russia in droves for the third year in a row.
This law was approved by 167 gentlemen, 31 gentlemen rejected it, while one gentleman was silent.
This law required a majority of two-thirds of the 200 seats in the country’s parliament.
The government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that this law is important to stop the future flow of illegal immigrants from poor countries through Russia, although this law is against Finland’s international human rights obligations.
“This is a strong signal to Russia, it is a strong signal to our allies that Finland cares about its security, we care about the security of the borders of the European Union,” Orpo said at a press conference after the vote.
The approved law is temporary and will last for a year. A joint decision by the government and the president is required to pass this law.
The law allows Finnish border guards to turn back illegal immigrants at the border.
Since March, no new illegal immigrants have arrived in the country – Finland closed its land border with Russia at the end of last year.
Finland has also accused Russia of weaponizing migration by encouraging dozens of migrants from countries including Syria, Iran and Somalia to cross the border.
Russia, of course, denies the allegations, but continues to send thousands of illegal immigrants to its borders with Europe, according to Finland.
