On Wednesday, Poland temporarily halted the ability of immigrants entering the nation through its frontier with Belarus from seeking asylum.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the controversial bill would be implemented “without any hesitation” immediately following its signing into law by Polish President Andrzej Duda.

“I think it’s essential to reinforce the safety of our borders as well as the protection of Polish citizens,” Duda declared, even though he had previously voiced worries that the bill might make it more difficult for dissenters in Belarus to escape their nation’s oppressive government.

The recently introduced law, enabling Polish officials to halt the right to asylum for up to 60 days consecutively, has faced severe criticism from organizations focused on human rights.

In February, the UNHCR alerted Poland that the suggested legislation would conflict with both international and European refugee protection laws.

Last month, Human Rights Watch stated that the European Union should consider taking legal measures against Poland if the bill is enacted. They also noted that this legislation contradicts Poland’s international and EU commitments and urged the Polish parliament to reject it.

Nevertheless, a representative from the European Commission admitted on Thursday that they would evaluate the legislation within the “framework” of the security challenge confronting Poland.

The Commission effectively
greenlighted
The suggested modification in December involved introducing fresh regulations that permit the suspension of basic freedoms if such actions are proportional, time-limited, and confined strictly to what is essential for tackling a security threat—this is how Poland characterizes the scenario at its frontier with Belarus.

The spokesperson stated on Thursday that hybrid threats stemming from Russia’s use of migration as a weapon, with support from Belarus, pose risks to Poland’s sovereignty, national security, and territorial integrity, as well as threatening the EU as a whole.

Tusk has presented the bill as essential for tackling the influx of migrants entering Poland through Belarus. He and members of his administration believe that both Moscow and Minsk are intentionally facilitating this situation to create instability within Europe.

The law permits Poland to invalidate a migrant’s entitlement to asylum when faced with circumstances that Tusk contends pose a “significant and genuine danger” to the nation’s safety.

This provision grants exceptions for specific groups of individuals, such as minors, expectant mothers, those with particular medical requirements, persons considered to be at “genuine risk of harm” upon being sent back across the frontier, and nationals from countries like Belarus, which has been alleged to employ migration as a tool of politics.

An eleventh-hour change to the legislation now permits relatives traveling with minors to seek asylum even under these tightened rules.

In spite of backlash from non-governmental organizations, Tusk insists that the law solely targets unlawful immigration organized by Russia and Belarus and does not violate the basic human rights of migrants overall.

Poland’s 400-kilometer frontier with Belarus has frequently been a hotspot for crises, as thousands of individuals regularly try to enter Poland via dense woods where temperatures can drop well below freezing during winter months.

Warsaw has invested heavily in reinforcing the area to tackle unauthorized immigration, which includes constructing a 5.5-meter-high steel fence crowned with barbed wire and installing a 206-kilometer-long electronic barrier equipped with motion-detecting cameras.

Human rights organizations suggest that hundreds of people have perished along the Poland-Belarus frontier since 2021, with reports indicating that thousands more were subjected to unlawful and brutal forced returns by Polish border officials.