Germany sent back 31 rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan. They arrived in Kabul early on Thursday morning -- just two days after the most recent attack in the Afghan capital, which claimed six lives.
Greece has started sending back around 30 rejected asylum seekers a day to Turkey, said the Greek government on Monday.
The first regional center for migrant repatriation on the Italian island of Sardiania opened on Monday. The facility is located in the town of Macomer, where dozens of migrants arrived recently.
Despite the rising number of asylum seekers ordered to leave Germany, deportation figures fell in 2019. But the reasons why are more complicated than it may seem.
The move is part of a controversial government policy to relocate Syrians from Turkey's largest city. Some were sent to refugee camps outside Istanbul, while NGOs claim that some were deported to conflict zones in Syria.
Germany's federal police chief said a lack of pre-deportation facilities is hampering the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal foreigners to third-countries.
A new CPR center, where migrants are detained while they await deportation, has opened in Gradisca d'Isonzo, in northeastern Italy, near the border with Slovenia. The facility can host up to 150 people.
A justice in Turin, Italy, ordered a last-minute suspension of the illegitimate repatriation of a young migrant originally from The Gambia. The migrant had been transferred to a repatriation center because even though he had the necessary requirements for obtaining a legal stay permit in Italy, he hadn't managed to obtain one due to a delay in communications with his home country.
Two Nigerian students, who were in Croatia for a sports competition and had visas, say they were wrongly deported to Bosnia. Croatian police likely suspected them of being illegal migrants based only on their skin color.
The German Foreign Ministry says risks are still too great to send migrants back to Syria. But Germany's state interior ministers have said they have agreed to return felons convicted of serious crimes.
Thousands of asylum-seekers in Germany have returned multiple times after deportation, according to a report in German media. Those with entry bans often serve a few months in jail or are not arrested at all.
A new study concludes that Afghans deported from Germany and EU countries are at risk of death, economic hardship and radicalization. The government is seeking to streamline deportations in 2020.