Vienna, 21 Dec – All immigrants arriving in Europe with the help of so-called “human traffickers” will automatically be denied asylum in Austria, according to the new projects revealed by his Interior Minister.

Herbert Kickl, member of the FPÖ and holder of the ministry, released a statement to local media expressing hope that Austrian laws be changed to allow for this policy arrangement by asserting that Austria's immigration approach "should go in this direction". The Austrian minister also stated that it is unfair that someone who can afford it of paying exorbitant amounts to pay for the services of these "traffickers" has a greater chance of asylum than others who cannot invest such a sum of money.

The chancellor himself recently hinted at a similar idea. “It is not the poorest who flee – explained Sebastian Kurz – but those who can afford the smugglers”. Kurz, 32 years, he is the youngest head of European government and his aggressive policy against illegal immigration has generated more than a few negative reactions in the international community. Again according to the young chancellor, the influx of immigrants is the direct cause of all those "people who died in the Mediterranean" and of the fields in Libya, where African migrants are “enslaved and tortured” by local traffickers. “We must destroy the business model of human traffickers,” he added. Earlier this week, Vienna hosted the EU-Africa forum where Kurz said he hoped to discuss new plans to boost economic growth in Africa: “It is our Christian-social responsibility to make their conditions better”. In this context, he stated that “every year they must be created in Africa 18 millions of new jobs" because the population explosion is a dramatic condition".

After a year in office, the chancellor and his FPO coalition partners have introduced increasingly strict anti-immigration measures and reduced benefits for newcomers to the country. The coalition proposed to seize migrants' money upon their arrival in the country, and then invest them in their initial care. Austria's proposed strengthening of asylum laws also includes the power to confiscate the mobile phones of asylum seekers which would allow investigators to access the phone's geographic data to determine their origin and the exact route of their "migration".

Ilaria Paoletti
source: https://www.ilprimatonazionale.it/esteri/paghi-i-trafficanti-per-arrivare-in-europa-laustria-ti-nega-il-diritto-di-asilo-99135/