UN Condemns Danish Plan to Seize Migrants' Cash and Valuables

The UN Refugee Agency is condemning a Danish plan to seize cash and valuables from would-be-refugees crossing the border, calling it "an affront to human dignity."

On Wednesday, the Danish parliament appeared poised to overhaul the country's immigration system, which would include empowering border authorities to confiscate possessions valued at over $1,450. That money, supporters of the measure say, would help Denmark defray the costs of the more than 20,000 asylum-seekers who crossed into the country in the past year.

"In Denmark, you should support yourself if you can," said Immigration Minister Inger Stojberg, defending the idea.

William Spinder, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), called the proposal inhumane. "Refugees have lost their homes and almost everything they possess," he told VICE News. "It beggars belief that somebody would want to strip them away from the little they have managed to salvage from their lives."

The proposal is part of a larger immigration measure being pushed by a coalition of right-of-center parties that control the Danish parliament with support from allies in the largest opposition party, the Social Democrats...
 [news.vice.com]
13/1/16