Amnesty International: EU Send Them Back Chants a Call to Confront Systemic Racism

Members of the European Parliament sparked international condemnation in June after chanting "send them back" during a vote on the Return Regulation.

The incident is not a vacuum. It is the visceral byproduct of a legislative shift toward aggressive deportation. The Return Regulation aims to expand the detention and removal of undocumented people across the bloc, a move that civil society organizations argue targets racialized populations specifically.

This is a systemic failure. When lawmakers openly cheer for the expulsion of migrants, they aren’t just voting on a policy; they are validating a prejudice that filters down into municipal policing and local housing markets.

The Return Regulation and the Mechanics of Deportation

The chants occurred as lawmakers celebrated the passage of the Return Regulation. According to Amnesty International, this law is designed to vastly increase the EU’s capacity for the detention and deportation of undocumented individuals. The regulation focuses on “externalization”—the practice of shifting the responsibility for processing asylum seekers to non-EU countries.

The human cost is measured in legal limbo. Over 250 civil society organizations have called for the total rejection of the Regulation, claiming it is “cruel, punitive and driven by detention.” By streamlining the removal process, the EU risks bypassing individual human rights assessments, potentially pushing vulnerable people into dangerous conditions in their countries of origin.

The legal framework is tightening. As the EU prepares what Amnesty International describes as the “harshest assault on migrants’ rights in recent memory,” the complexity of challenging deportation orders is skyrocketing.

“The ugly scenes of Members of the European Parliament chanting ‘send them back’ last month is the product of long-standing racism and xenophobia being tolerated and emboldened both inside and outside the European Parliament.”

This quote from Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe underscores a critical point: the rhetoric is the policy. The “send them back” mantra isn’t just a slogan; it is the operational goal of the Return Regulation.

Political Scapegoating and the Economic Undercurrent

Why now? The surge in overt xenophobia coincides with deep-seated domestic crises across Europe. Amnesty International asserts that political leaders have spent years scapegoating migrants and refugees to divert public anger away from internal failures. Specifically, the organization points to three systemic triggers:

• Public Service Cuts: Decades of austerity have left healthcare and education systems strained.
• The Housing Crisis: The housing crisis has created a scarcity of affordable living spaces.
• Cost of Living: The rising cost of living has eroded the purchasing power of the working class.

By framing the migrant as the “competitor” for these dwindling resources, politicians create a convenient distraction. This dynamic turns a socio-economic problem into a racial one. The result is a political climate where “send them back” becomes a viable campaign promise rather than a violation of parliamentary decorum.

A Reckoning with Europe’s Colonial Legacy

The current tension is a continuation of a historical arc. Amnesty International argues that Europe’s “bloodied history of colonialism, slavery, genocide and the Holocaust” continues to haunt its present. The normalization of discrimination against marginalized people is not a new phenomenon, but the fact that it is now being voiced by elected officials in the European Parliament represents a critical escalation.

The “mask has slipped,” according to the organization. The transition from coded language to open chants of expulsion suggests that the EU is moving toward a period of overt racialization in its public discourse. This shift risks inciting direct discrimination against racialized people not only in the halls of power but in every street and workplace across the member states.

The European Parliament is the legislative heart of the union. If the voice of the Parliament becomes the voice of xenophobia, the legal protections for millions of residents—regardless of their documentation status—become precarious.

The path forward requires more than a statement of condemnation from President Metsola. It requires a fundamental reversal of the Return Regulation and a systemic confrontation with the racism that fuels it. Until then, the “send them back” chants serve as a warning of a darker, more exclusionary era of European governance.

As the legal landscape shifts toward increased detention and faster deportations, the gap between official policy and human rights grows wider.