Denmark to limit ‘non-Western’ residents in neighborhoods to 30 percent

Denmark has announced that it will limit “non-Western” residents to more than 30 percent of any neighborhood, but has stopped using the controversial term “ghetto.”

Danish Interior Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek said the law was designed to prevent “the emergence of parallel religious and cultural societies” and is part of the nation’s hard-line immigration policies, which are some of the most restrictive. of Europe.

The new bill is a revision of the existing laws that were enacted to combat the formation of “ghettos”.

That term has been dropped in this latest version, and Bek said in a statement: “The term ghetto is misleading … I think it contributes to overshadowing the large amount of work that needs to be done in these neighborhoods.”

Previously, the term was used to define any area with a population greater than 1000 where more than half of the residents were of “non-Western origin who also met at least two of the other four criteria.”

The criteria are:

• More than 40 percent unemployment
• More than 60 percent of people between the ages of 39 and 50 without upper secondary education
• Crime rates three times higher than the national average
• Average gross income 55% lower than the regional average

Currently, 15 Danish neighborhoods fall into this category and residents are subject to stricter enforcement of certain laws.

For those residents, misdemeanors carry twice the legal penalties seen in other parts of Denmark and daycare is mandatory for all children over the age of 1, or benefits are withdrawn.

Driven by challenges from the right, Denmark’s ruling center-left Social Democrats have staunchly pursued anti-immigrant policies in recent years.

Earlier this month, Denmark told some of its Syrian migrants to return to their war-torn home, insisting that it was now safe.

Ninety-four Syrian refugees were stripped of citizenship and now face life in a deportation camp or return home.

Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said last month: “We have made it clear to Syrian refugees that their residence permit is temporary. It can be withdrawn if protection is no longer needed,” the Daily Telegraph reported.

“We must provide protection to people for as long as it takes. But when conditions in the country of origin improve, a former refugee must return home and reestablish a life there,” he said.