Lobby groups mobilize against reporting obligation for illegal immigrants

Several trade unions, along with the LGBTQ+ movement and various lobby groups, have joined forces to demonstrate against the government’s proposal that public sector employees should be compelled to report illegal immigrants to the police and authorities.

Among the organizers are RFSL, the National Council of Refugee Groups, the Unity Project (Tillsammansskapet) associated with the far-left intelligence group Expo, Amnesty International, and the Trade Union Teachers of Sweden (Fackförbundet Sveriges Lärare).

According to the industry magazine Us Teachers, Teachers of Sweden, in collaboration with “a number of other trade unions and organizations”, are organizing a demonstration against the reporting obligation in Stockholm on Sunday.

– The idea goes against our professional ethical principles, says Hanna Garberg from Teachers of Sweden.

– According to the curriculum, we should stand up for the Convention on the Rights of the Child and human rights, and this idea goes against our professional ethical principles. And not just ours, she further claims.

All trade unions affiliated with SACO (Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations) oppose the reporting obligation, and Garberg further believes that this “is not consistent with our democratic mission”.

– We should not get involved in immigration policy, nor is it our task to implement it, she argues.

På söndag talar Sacos ordförande @goranarrius på demonstrationen mot förslaget om #anmälningsplikt.

Tillsammans med våra 21 förbund har Saco tagit ställning emot förslaget då det strider mot flera professioners yrkesetiska regler vars arbete bygger på tillit och förtroende. pic.twitter.com/5CTY2XmRkj

— Saco (@Akademikerna) September 8, 2023

The LGBTQ+ movement’s flagship organizations, RFSU and RFSL, are also among the organizers of the protests. Other organizing groups include the immigration lobby groups National Council of Refugee Groups, Association Heart (Föreningen Hjärta), Network Enough is Enough (Nätverket Nu är det nog), Network Keep Sweden Together for a Humane Immigration Policy, and the Network #notinmyname. The Unity Project (Förbundet Tillsammanskapet) is also listed as an official organizer – a group founded together with the far-left intelligence group Expo, which previously organized “anti-racist training” on their behalf.

Also listed among the organizers are Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders – organizations that officially work for human rights but are often criticized for practically engaging in left-leaning political activism.