Prevent racial profiling of migrants

Caritas Europa co-signed a statement to express concern about legitimising discriminatory racial profiling in the EU.

As the European Parliament and the Council are finalising the negotiations on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, Caritas Europa joins 80 Civil Society Organisations to express concerns that one provision could increase and legitimise discriminatory racial profiling in the European Union.

We call on the co-legislators to delete Article 5 from the proposed Screening Regulation, in line with the European Parliament’s position.

Article 5 would extend the application of screening procedures not only to people apprehended at the borders but to all undocumented individuals apprehended within the territories of member states. The screening will entail procedures where member states’ officials will carry out security and identity checks in facilities at the borders or other designated locations. In practice, this will imply detaining the person, or at least restricting their freedom of movement.

Screening of anyone suspected to be an undocumented migrant could have a broad and indiscriminate impact on racialised communities. This would create a hostile environment in which minorities and people of colour – whether they are EU citizens or individuals with regular or irregular residence status – would face a heightened risk of being targeted by discriminatory controls and potentially detained without adequate safeguards.

In light of the concerns discussed above, the undersigned civil society organisations:

• Call on the co-legislators to delete Article 5 from the proposed Screening Regulation.
• Condemn the proliferation of procedures authorising the policing and arbitrary detention of non-EU nationals without due procedural guarantees and access to effective remedies.
• Express their strong concerns at the glaring inconsistency between the commitments under the EU Action Plan against Racism with respect to ending racial profiling and the introduction of provisions that would legitimise widespread discriminatory practices under EU legislation.