EU’s new Return Regulation will significantly affect LGBTI migrants
On 17 June, the European Parliament passed the so-called Return Regulation with 418 votes in favour, 218 against, and 30 abstentions.
Despite being framed as a routine migration management tool, the regulation expands mass detention, enables deportation raids on homes and hospitals, and sends people to third countries they have no connection to. Rather than addressing the realities of migration, the Regulation is likely to push more people into fear, irregularity and social exclusion. In 2025, more than 250 civil society organisations and over 110,000 people called for the rejection of the proposed regulation.
1. The Regulation normalises raids, surveillance and racial profiling
The Regulation requires authorities to actively identify, track and apprehend people without regular immigration status. In practice, this could mean more identity checks, home raids, data collection, searches and immigration enforcement in everyday spaces.
These measures risk turning schools, hospitals, shelters, workplaces and even private homes into sites of immigration control. They also increase the likelihood of racial profiling, where people are targeted because of their appearance, language, name or perceived origin rather than any individual behaviour. Such practices undermine trust in public institutions and make entire communities feel under suspicion.
2. It dramatically expands detention, including for children
The Regulation broadens the grounds on which people can be detained and extends detention periods from the current maximum of 18 months to up to 24 months, with possible extensions to 30 months. Because detention periods may restart when a person moves between Member States, there is a real risk of people becoming trapped in prolonged or repeated detention. Detention can be triggered by things like being homeless, lacking ID documents, or simply not having enough money.
The Regulation also allows for the detention of children and families. Immigration detention is never in the best interests of a child and can cause lasting psychological harm.
3. It weakens due process and gives authorities sweeping powers
Authorities could conduct searches of private homes and other premises on the basis of administrative authorisation rather than a judicial warrant. They could also seize personal belongings and electronic devices and use coercive measures to obtain biometric data.
These powers significantly expand state enforcement while reducing independent oversight; undermining fundamental rights, privacy and access to justice.
4. It creates harsh penalties for people who cannot comply
The Regulation introduces extensive “cooperation” requirements for people facing deportation. Individuals may be punished for failing to provide documents they do not possess, cooperate with third-country authorities, or comply with intrusive searches.
Sanctions can be severe, including detention, imprisonment and entry bans of up to 20 years. This punishes people for circumstances beyond their control and treats migration management as a matter of punishment rather than rights and protection.
5. It endorses controversial “return hubs” outside the EU
One of the most concerning elements is the possibility of transferring people to deportation centres in third countries with which they may have no meaningful connection. These so-called “return hubs” could be established through agreements with non-EU countries, including informal arrangements with limited democratic oversight. The Safe Country of Origin list already includes several countries where homosexuality is criminalized and gender identity and expression is restricted, therefore the “return hubs” are likely to be placed in similar countries as well.
This raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability and the ability of individuals to challenge abuses. It also risks allowing the EU to shift responsibility for migrants and asylum seekers beyond its borders while reducing scrutiny of what happens to them after transfer.
6. It risks trapping more people in irregularity and legal limbo
The regulation allows deportation orders to be issued immediately after a person’s legal stay ends, without first properly considering other residence options that may exist under national law, such as humanitarian permits, family considerations, medical needs or the best interests of a child.
Instead of creating durable solutions, this approach is likely to increase insecurity and leave more people living in precarious situations with no realistic path forward.
Why this matters for LGBTI people
LGBTI migrants, refugees and asylum seekers already face multiple forms of discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics, often alongside racism, xenophobia and social exclusion.
The new regulation creates particular risks for them:
- Return hubs may transfer people to countries where LGBTI people face criminalisation, violence or discrimination. LGBTI people may be unable to access medication or healthcare, be that HRT, ART, or SSRIs. In hostile environments, LGBTI people are also less likely to report any anti-LGBTI abuse they may face in the system.
- Expanded detention can have severe mental health consequences for LGBTI people who have already experienced trauma, persecution or family rejection. It is also unclear whether they will be able to access support and healthcare throughout this period.
- Increased surveillance, raids and policing disproportionately affect people who are already marginalised and profiled, especially racialized trans people.
- The Regulation contains no meaningful safeguards that specifically address the protection needs of LGBTI people.
For many queer migrants and asylum seekers, the danger is not only deportation itself but being sent to environments where their identity places them at risk of violence, persecution or exclusion. Outsourcing migration control through return hubs could expose LGBTI people to exactly the harms that international protection systems are meant to prevent.
