Belgian MPs Approve Law Letting Police Forcibly Enter Homes to Remove Undocumented People

Belgian MPs have approved a law that allows police to forcibly enter homes to remove people who do not have legal papers to stay in the country, according to The Guardian. The law is set to take effect next spring.

Under the law, Belgium's immigration office can ask an investigating judge, a magistrate who oversees criminal inquiries, to authorise entry into residences that may house anyone without papers. The authorised entries can include homes where migrants are being hosted by friends or family.

Once a warrant is obtained, police can enter homes without the occupant's consent between 5am and 9pm. Entries can take place in the presence of children. Inside a home, officers can detain people and carry out searches for identity documents.

Belgian officials said the measures will be targeted at people who have been denied asylum, who ignored orders to leave the country, and who are seen as a threat to public order or national security.

The vote came after more than 60 protests across Belgium in the run-up to the parliamentary decision, The Guardian reported.

Rights campaigners have warned that the law could lead to ICE-style home raids in Belgium, a reference to the immigration enforcement operations carried out by the US authorities. The campaigners' concerns centre on the reach of home entries and the presence of children during them.