When protection also means (constant risk of) deportation

When protection also means (constant risk of) deportation In 2015 a new and more fragile type of subsidiary protection for refugees was introduced in Danish legislation. Designed to offer minimal protection for refugees fleeing generalized violence (namely Syria), the new type of refugee status is characterized by short term protection (1 year duration and markedly lower standards regarding the required security level in the country of origin in decisions of cessation) and fewer rights (a 3 year postponal of the right to family reunification, no free access to education) This type of subsidiary status was in detail designed to erode refugee rights and prepare the legal grounds for future deportations (in an attempt to make asylum seekers seek other destination countries in the “human rights race to the bottom” among EU States (Gammeltoft-Hansen 2016) while still making sure that Danish legislation was not in conflict with the rulings of ECHR (Sufi & Elmi vs. UK). The introduction of this legislation has brought a “paradigmatic shift” in Danish asylum and integration law from permanence and integration to uncertainty and ever-present risk of deportation. This, of course, poses a fundamental barrier for refugees in Denmark: How to plan for studies and family when you do not know if you’re facing deportation in 6 months? How to engage and integrate in a society that in the very structure of your residence permit seeks to deny an extention of your future presence in that society? However, this presentation will also focus on the effect on the surrounding society, especially in the frame of the Scandinavian (post)welfare societies. How does the fundamental uncertainty, the non-future aspect of refugee life, affect professionals in their meetings and relations with refugees? Does the new status curtails solidarity in social work with refugees? As the legislations hinders a common future, does it also hinder a common now?