Editing Sweden Democrats (section)

==== Immigration ====
The Sweden Democrats believe that [[Immigration to Sweden|Sweden's recent immigration]] and integration policies have been a national failure. In a statement filed before the [[Riksdag]] Committee on Migration in August 2020, SD claims that Sweden's "irresponsible" immigration and asylum policies have subjected Sweden to an on-going "long-term, albeit low-intensity crisis".<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=13 August 2020|title=Särskilt yttrande av Sverigedemokraterna i Migrationskommitténs slutbetänkande En långsiktigt hållbar migrationspolitik|trans-title=Special statement by the Sweden Democrats in the Migration Committee's final report "A long-term sustainable migration policy"|url=https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/13092823/sarskilt_yttrande_migrationskommitten-1.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004230733/https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/13092823/sarskilt_yttrande_migrationskommitten-1.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2020|access-date=15 January 2021|website=|publisher=Sweden Democrats}}</ref> The SD official policy brief states that the party "welcomes those who contribute to our [Sweden's] society, who follow our laws and respect our customs. On the other hand, anyone who comes here and exploits our systems, commits crimes or exposes our citizens to danger is not welcome".<ref>{{cite web|title=Vår politik|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622211421/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically, SD sought to repatriate most immigrants and ban immigration entirely; however, these policies were moderated in the 1990s before being abolished altogether.<ref name="auto6"/> Presently, SD positions itself against [[mass immigration]] and wishes to strongly restrict immigration by instead giving generous support to those who do not want to assimilate into Swedish society to emigrate back to their country of origin. The SD also wants to change laws to allow for wider deportations of foreign residents who engage in illegal activity or are unemployed and abusing state welfare.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sd.se/vad-vi-vill/en-strikt-invandringspolitik/ |title=En strikt Invandringspolitik |access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> The Sweden Democrats also call for an expansion of circumstances in which citizenship can be revoked from naturalized citizens, with Jimmie Åkesson mentioning examples of those who commit crimes, engage in delinquency, support terrorism or remain socially unintegrated into society.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Svahn |first=Niklas |date=2023-11-09 |title=SD: Återkalla medborgarskap i fler fall |trans-title=SD: Revoke citizenship in more cases |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/dwW2Lz/sd-aterkalla-medborgarskap-i-fler-fall |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=[[Aftonbladet]] |language=sv |agency=[[TT News Agency|TT]]}}</ref> The Sweden Democrats also support raising the [[remigration]] allowance given to migrants and asylum seekers who seek to voluntarily leave the country.<ref>{{cite news|work=Euractiv|title=Swedish coalition divided over remigration allowance|date=10 September 2024|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/swedish-coalition-divided-over-remigration-allowance/}}</ref> The SD argues that its immigration policies are not based on xenophobia and that the party is not opposed to immigration per say, but believe immigration must stay at a level where it does not "threaten national identity, the country's welfare or security".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf |title=Principprogram |access-date=2024-02-02 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324201114/https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> SD has also campaigned to restrict immigration from what it calls "culturally distant" countries and argues that temporary work visas should be limited only to skills that are impossible to find in Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sverigedemokraternaspartiprogram.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/sverigedemokraterna-invandringspolitiskt-program/ |title=Immigration policy action program |date=23 August 2010 |access-date=2024-02-02 |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406030308/https://sverigedemokraternaspartiprogram.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/sverigedemokraterna-invandringspolitiskt-program/ |url-status=live }}</ref> SD are against [[Freedom of movement for workers in the European Union|free movement of labour]] within the European Union, calling on Sweden to revise its membership of the [[Schengen agreement]], but support free movement between [[Nordic countries|Nordic nations]].<ref name="auto13"/> The SD believes that Sweden will be better able to help [[refugee]]s and economic migrants in their home areas once more state funds are freed from being directed towards funding immigration in Sweden.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-vill-satsa-mer-pa-bistand-an-regeringen/|title=SD vill satsa på mer bistånd än regeringen|work=Expressen|access-date=29 October 2017|language=sv|archive-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916195559/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-vill-satsa-mer-pa-bistand-an-regeringen/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/migrationspolitik/|title=Migrationspolitik|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=22 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522133348/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/migrationspolitik/|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD also favours cultural assimilation over integration of immigrants from non-Western backgrounds, arguing that integration is a meet in the middle approach and that Swedes should not have to bear the burden over what the party claims have been reckless immigration policies. {{ill|Torbjörn Kastell|sv}} (former party secretary from 2003 to 2004) said in 2002 that the party wanted "a multicultural world, not a multicultural society".<ref name="autogenerated10" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/business/sweden-economy-immigration.html|title=The Nordic Model May Be the Best Cushion Against Capitalism. Can It Survive Immigration? (Published 2019)|first=Peter S.|last=Goodman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 July 2019|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308223333/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/business/sweden-economy-immigration.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

When handling asylum seekers and refugee cases, the SD supports protecting [[Nation state|national sovereignty]] in regards to Sweden's decisions on migration and border control. The party calls for Sweden to adopt "the principle of first safe country" into its asylum laws, meaning that asylum seekers should only be able to seek refugee status in the first safe country that they arrive in and will be refused refugee status in Sweden if they have already crossed multiple safe countries or their case is already registered in a foreign state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sd.se/vad-vi-vill/myter-om-invandring/ |title=Myter om invandring |access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> Until such legislation is realized by the Riksdag, SD supports implementing stronger deterrents against asylum migration to Sweden through other countries and setting stricter limits on the right to welfare that asylum seekers are entitled to by the Swedish state and making cultural assimilation of those already in Sweden mandatory. The party opposes offering [[permanent residency]] to refugees, believing that temporary residency should be the standard for those who claim asylum in Sweden before a path to full residency or citizenship is considered. SD supports Sweden eventually accepting refugees exclusively through the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]] resettlement programme in accordance with a quota based on each [[Municipalities of Sweden|municipality]]'s capacity once Sweden's asylum laws are reformed and tightened.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=3 May 2020|title=Asylinvandring|url=https://sd.se/our-politics/asylinvandring/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119104914/https://sd.se/our-politics/asylinvandring/|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD has also referred to the recommendations from the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR) which state that the return of refugees should be the solution to refugee problems.<ref name="autogenerated10" /> On asylum cases from the Middle East and Africa, the party supports giving priority to persecuted Christian, former Muslim and other religious or sexual minorities fleeing war or death for apostasy, believing that such individuals are less likely to be offered refuge elsewhere.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |title=Utrikespolitik |trans-title=Foreign policy |url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/utrikespolitik/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914202545/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/utrikespolitik/ |archive-date=14 September 2021 |access-date=5 March 2021 |website=Sverigdemokraterna}}</ref> In 2017, members of the Sweden Democrats' leadership defended comments made by then US President [[Donald Trump]] in response to Trump's assertion that Sweden's immigration and asylum policies had led to a rise of terrorism and crime in Sweden.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-is-right-swedens-embrace-of-refugees-isnt-working-1487807010| title = Trump Is Right: Sweden's Embrace of Refugees Isn't Working – WSJ| newspaper = Wall Street Journal| date = 22 February 2017| access-date = 2 November 2021| archive-date = 23 February 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170223071341/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-is-right-swedens-embrace-of-refugees-isnt-working-1487807010| url-status = live}}</ref> However, following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] the SD supported accepting and accommodating Ukrainian refugees in Sweden.<ref name="rmx.news">{{cite web |url=https://rmx.news/crime/sweden-democrats-want-to-stop-asylum-for-everyone-except-ukrainians/ |title=Sweden Democrats want to stop asylum for everyone except Ukrainians |date=14 March 2022 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=17 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220917115248/https://rmx.news/crime/sweden-democrats-want-to-stop-asylum-for-everyone-except-ukrainians/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ahead of the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the party campaigned to tighten the rules in the Swedish Aliens Act ({{interlanguage link|Utlänningslagen|sv}}) to the strictest possible level within European law and encourage voluntary [[remigration]] of asylum seekers and immigrants who are economically inactive or remain culturally unassimilated.<ref name="auto1"/>

The SD also wants European governments to construct a security wall along the European border with Turkey in response to illegal immigration, terrorism and incursions by the [[Grey Wolves (organization)|Grey Wolves]] into Greece. It also calls on the Europe Union to commonly adopt a migration system based on the [[Operation Sovereign Borders|Australian model]] to prevent human trafficking across the Mediterranean which the party states enables illegal immigrants and terrorists to reach Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|title=Charlie Weimers (SD): EU behöver bygga murar mot Erdogans Turkiet|date=4 March 2020|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108142845/https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/bureaucratic-hubris-the-commissions-2020-2027-integration-action-plan-is-set-to-replicate-swedens-failure/|title=Bureaucratic hubris: The Commission's 2020–2027 integration action plan is set to replicate Sweden's failure|first=Nicholas|last=Waller|date=17 February 2021|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219113648/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/bureaucratic-hubris-the-commissions-2020-2027-integration-action-plan-is-set-to-replicate-swedens-failure|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD calls for compulsory measures for immigrants to be employed, live and work in Sweden for at least ten years, learn the [[Swedish language]], go through a mandatory cultural assimilation program, and be subject to a language and social skills test before becoming eligible for Swedish citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20150701/swedish-should-be-spoken-in-the-workplace|title=Swedish should be spoken in Sweden|work=thelocal|access-date=13 March 2020|language=en|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918145730/http://www.thelocal.se/20150701/swedish-should-be-spoken-in-the-workplace|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> The party also supports increased spending on border patrol forces, [[zero tolerance]] laws on illegal immigration and foreign-born criminals, repatriations of [[Schengen Area]] migrants who move to Sweden to make a living from street begging, changes in the law to enable the government to strip foreign-born Swedish nationals of their citizenship if found guilty of a crime, penalties against employers who use foreign and undocumented labor to circumvent Swedish working conditions and stricter laws against family migration.<ref name="auto1"/>

In recent years, the SD{{nbsp}}has tried to approach the immigration policies of the [[Danish People's Party]], which from 2001 to 2011 provided parliamentary support for the former Danish centre-right governments in return for a tightening of Danish immigration policies and stricter naturalisation laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.klassekampen.no/46003/article/item/null |title=Vil kopiere Dansk Folkeparti |publisher=Klassekampen |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=8 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929232041/http://www.klassekampen.no/46003/article/item/null |archive-date=29 September 2011 }}</ref> Following the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the Sweden Democrats achieved this objective under the [[Tidö Agreement]] with the centre-right Moderate, Christian Democrat and Liberal Party coalition government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20221121/explained-is-sweden-planning-to-withdraw-permanent-residency |title=EXPLAINED: What do we know about Sweden's plans to withdraw permanent residency? |date=21 November 2022 |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028223033/https://www.thelocal.se/20221121/explained-is-sweden-planning-to-withdraw-permanent-residency |url-status=live }}</ref> In exchange for SD parliamentary support, the Swedish government conceded to some of the SD's immigration policy demands on requirements for obtaining Swedish citizenship and expanding the deportation circumstances for foreign-born residents and asylum seekers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://behorizon.org/dissecting-the-new-swedish-migration-policy/ |title=Dissecting the New Swedish Migration Policy |date=14 November 2022 |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028223033/https://behorizon.org/dissecting-the-new-swedish-migration-policy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following scenes of people in Swedish cities celebrating the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]], the SD leadership stated that those who praised the attack should be expelled from the country and that the Tidö Agreement clause on deporting non-citizens on grounds of poor character and not just criminal convictions should be used against those who support [[Hamas]]. SD also states that Swedes of foreign backgrounds who leave the country to join legally designated terrorist groups should be stripped of their citizenship or residency and denied re-entry into the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/zE2lqb/akesson-borde-kunna-utvisa-de-som-hyllar-hamas |title=Åkesson: Should be able to deport those who praise Hamas |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=25 October 2023 |archive-date=26 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026194555/https://www.svd.se/a/zE2lqb/akesson-borde-kunna-utvisa-de-som-hyllar-hamas |url-status=live }}</ref>