
On 22 December 2023 Poland appointed a new deputy minister of the interior, Professor Maciej Duszczyk. One of his main tasks will be to develop a national migration policy, as Poland does not currently have one. The last and only official migration policy adopted in Poland in 2012 was revoked by the Law and Justice government in 2016.
Minister Duszczyk’s task will not be easy, as the coalition government holds different, clashing positions on immigration, especially regarding the migration situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. Representatives of the New Left are against pushbacks on the border, while representatives of the Civic Coalition and the Third Way are divided on the issue, emphasising the need to protect the border. On the other hand, there is no major disagreement on the issue of migrant integration, as all coalition partners tend to agree that a migrant integration policy is needed (or have not raised this as an issue).
According to the new minister, migrant integration is a crucial aspect of migration policy and an integration policy should precede the creation of a migration policy. In his recent interview for Krytyka Polityczna, he said: ‘Before we open up to migrants, let’s prepare schools to admit their children, let’s check whether integration through education works, and if it does, let’s open up more widely. Then we can start talking about which directions we want to open up to, how many migrants we need, and what role they should play in Polish society’. The issue of integration is therefore to occupy an important place in the government's emerging migration strategy for 2025 - 2030, preceding the development of the proper migration policy by Minister Duszczyk.
Details
- Publication dates
- Geographic area
- Poland
- Source
- Posted by