Hungarian govt looks to constitution to keep immigrants out

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Hungarian government proposed constitutional amendments and a new law Tuesday that are intended to prevent Hungary “from becoming an immigrant country” by further tightening its policies on accepting refugees and asylum-seekers. The law submitted to parliament would make it a criminal offense punishable by up to a year in prison to promote or facilitate “illegal migration.” Dubbed “Stop Soros” by the government, it partly targets civic groups, some supported by Hungarian-American financier George Soros, which offer legal and other aid to asylum-seekers.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, one of the groups most vilified by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s anti-immigration government, said its activities were lawful and called the proposal “unacceptable in a democratic state.” The bill “threatens to lock up and imprison those who behave legally in the defense of Hungary’s human rights obligations,” the group said.

The constitutional amendments put forward add language saying that “foreign populations cannot be settled in Hungary” and would place additional limits on eligibility for asylum. For example, people who entered Hungary from a country where they were not persecuted or threatened with persecution would be ineligible.

Since most asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Asia reach Hungary from Serbia, they would be unlikely to meet the new requirement.