Hungary Passes ‘Stop Soros’ Laws to Criminalize Giving Aid to Illegal Immigrants
On Wednesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a series of laws that criminalize giving certain types of assistance to illegal immigrants. In the aftermath of the laws’ passage, liberal NGOs and human rights groups denounced the legal package – known informally as the ‘Stop Soros’ law – as an authoritarian measure that would make Hungary guilty of “persecuting” migrants, asylum seekers, and the groups that help them.
Amnesty International Europe Director Gauri van Gulik was especially incensed by the new laws, characterizing them as "a brazen attack on people seeking safe haven from persecution and those who carry out admirable work to help them” and further pledging to “resist” the laws “every step of the way.”
Helsinki Committee Co-Chair Marta Pardavi also had strong criticism for the new measures, lamenting that “instead of giving protection against persecution, the Hungarian government has decided to join the ranks of the persecutors.”
Before the law had even been passed, the Venice Commission – which works as a human rights advisory group for the Council of Europe (one of Europe’s most prominent quasi-governmental advisory bodies itself) – warned Hungary not to pass the laws until its review of them could be completed by this Friday.
But what were the actual provisions of the laws that so upset these liberal activists?
Firstly, one of the laws makes it a jailable offense (for up to twelve months) for anybody to help migrants apply for asylum when they do not legally qualify for asylum status. The law defines “help” by specifying a variety of different forms of aid, including distributing information about asylum applications, helping them to fill out the applications, and giving migrants money or other financial assistance.
Other laws actually amended the Hungarian Constitution, including a measure that makes it illegal to “settle foreign populations” in Hungary. This constitutional change appears to be a clear rebuke to German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and the European Union’s far more lenient policies over the past few years that have encouraged millions of Middle-Eastern and African migrants to illegally trek through several European countries (such as Hungary, Greece, and Serbia) to seek asylum. The amendment is also a clear attempt to push back on immigrant quotas that the European Union is currently trying to force all its member states to accept.
Another constitutional amendment that comes from the “Stop Soros” legislation calls for the establishment of a new parallel court system to deal with “cases related to public administration,” according to the New York Times.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/chrisr...rants-n2493467
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Originally Posted by Captdon
