Valkyria passes exemptions in refugee moratorium
Romordians and Jakubians will be exempt from the 2019 moratorium on refugees
Tove Jakobsdóttir (she/her), Chief politics writer
Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Ravneby — The storting voted to pass legislation that exempted Romordians and Jakubians from the five-year refugee moratorium imposed by the Immigration Regulatory Act 2019 (IRA 19), which is set to expire on 25 September 2024, less than ten months from Tuesday. While the storting could not repeal IRA 19 outright, the government’s ability to create an exception has partially alleviated what several human rights organisations called a preventable humanitarian disaster in Valkyria.
The legislation came after the party leaders of the governing Alliance of Social Democrats assembled at the Utøvende for a meeting called by Prime Minister Steve Bennett, who as the general secretary of the Socialist Party, met with Labour leader and Foreign Minister Avianna Aldridge, Populist Left leader and Home Minister Taeler Shaw, Pirate leader and Communications Minister David Mira, and Greens leader and Environment Minister Ruby Burke.
The five-leader meeting lasted for about nine hours on Saturday and ten hours on Sunday. During this two-day meeting, the leaders discussed the Immigration Court decision at length and ways to remedy the refugee crisis. According to sources who were present for the meeting, the environment was tense with four of the governing bloc’s leaders urging the Populist Left leader to drop the party’s opposition to repealing IRA 19.
Despite their urging, Shaw maintained the party’s line on IRA 19 on the first day of the meeting. However, the Populist Left leader came back to the meeting on the second day after meeting with the rest of the party’s members to present a compromise: an exemption for Romordians and Jakubians escaping their homelands due to the conflicts in their nations.
Bennett and the other party leaders agreed to the compromise, prompting them to return and the Alliance of Social Democrats to quickly draft legislation that would effectively create the exemption and overturn the Immigration Court’s ruling. Under a fast-tracked parliamentary process, the governing bloc allowed the exemption, titled the Amended Immigration Regulatory Act 2023 (AIRA 23), to skip the first two readings and head straight into a vote on whether to send the legislation to the jarlskona for signing.
All five parties, including the Populist Left, voted to pass the bill in a 384–231 vote that saw the Liberals and Communists join the governing bloc in support of the legislation. The four right-wing opposition parties and regionalist Austurland Interests party voted against AIRA 23. Given the urgency of the situation, Jarlskona Kate Murphy made herself present in the storting to give her signature of approval.
With AIRA 23’s passage, more than 100,000 Romordians and Jakubians will now be allowed to stay and live in Valkyria for an indefinite period of time. Most of the refugees had been detained by the National Gendarmerie and housed in hotels in or near Gullkysten. However, the exemption passed by the storting will allow them to be afforded the same privileges extended to pre-moratorium refugees, which are resettlement and job guarantees.
If Romordian and Jakubian refugees have any relatives in Valkyria, they will be allowed to live with them. If not, the government will assign them housing and employment. Refugees who have a skill or are experienced in a particular trade will be considered for jobs that match those skills.
However, AIRA 23 set a 200,000-person annual cap on the exemption, almost ensuring that Valkyria will reach the cap very quickly. Once the cap has been reached, the Valkyrian government will not have the authority to resettle any more Romordians or Jakubians and will have to deport them. Where is another question.
After the court ruling, Chancellor Marja Sanddorn of Gianatla offered to accept the refugees that Valkyria could not, so the Valkyrian government could make contact with other countries willing to accept refugees. For now, though, the refugees who have already come to Valkyria will be allowed to stay.
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