NEWLY APPOINTED: Earlier in June, Arne Jørgen Olafsen was appointed commander of the Police Immigration Unit in a six-year target. He has been acting in the position since 2018. Photo: Terje Bringedal
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Record low asylum seeker numbers and closed borders mean that the Police Immigration Unit, PU, has too few work tasks and has to downsize. Five years ago, the special agency had well over 1000 on the payroll. They are now 555.
– We will be a preparedness organization for high immigration, but right now in the corona crisis there is little to do within our primary tasks, asylum registration and return, acknowledges PU chief Arne Jørgen Olafsen vis-à-vis VG.
In April and May, the Norwegian authorities received 72 applications for asylum. Most of them already stayed in Norway. Olafsen says it is due to closed borders.
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Builds arrival center
Nevertheless, the government is now investing large sums on a new arrival center for asylum seekers in the Council, with room to accommodate up to 1000 people should major pressure come.
The Arrivals Center will open in November. New arrivals who seek asylum must be transported there. The PU and UDI will work together to quickly clarify any right to asylum.
– A majority of asylum seekers will have their applications processed and settled there while they are at the center. The goal is to take a majority of the cases within three weeks, says UDI chief Frode Forfang tril VG.
The government says it is necessary to be prepared in case the borders are opened again and people flow to Norway. But that doesn’t seem very likely at the moment.
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Keep prepared
– Many in the police ask if we are planning for the last crisis when we are prepared for the next crisis, says Olafsen.
– But it’s a political order. And I think it is important to maintain solid readiness. A lot depends on what happens on the border between Turkey and Greece. The difference from 2015 is that we now have much better intelligence, better technology, and better cooperation between the countries in Europe, he adds.
When Olafsen was appointed PU chief executive in 2018, PU had approximately 750 employees. Now before the summer, they are down to the goal of 555 jobs.
But even that number may prove to be too high, given today’s tasks.
– We are now talking to the Police Directorate about other tasks in the police can be transferred to us, so that PU gets more legs to stand on. A possible role is within border management, but this is currently at the stage of thought, says Olafsen.
—EVERYONE SHOULD HIT: The Asylum Seekers Arrival Center was decorated during the refugee crisis in 2015. Now, the center is being converted into a national arrival center, in the event of a new refugee wave. The picture is from 2015. Photo: Trond Solberg
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Fewer are sent out
Neither is the same momentum in the forced expulsion of those who cannot stay and who are leaving Norway.
“Not long ago, 60 percent of our resources went to forced return,” says Olafsen.
– In recent months we have had a small number of charter flights out. Some have also traveled on their own, after following them into the plane, he says.
In 2016, 8,000 were forcibly returned from Norway. So far this year, the figure is below 2000, but half of them were rejected from Norway because of the infection control rules.
– At the moment, 830 people are sitting at reception with a decision on expulsion and duty to leave Norway. In addition, those who live privately come. Most of these refuse to leave, or are not accepted by the home country, says the PU boss.
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Clarifies identity
Another important task for PU is ID clarification of those who will be taken out as quota refugees to Norway. People from UDI and PU have traveled together in the countries concerned and led the withdrawal. Now it has stopped.
– The government has decided that Norway will receive 3000 quota refugees this year. It looks like the figure is landing at 2000 to 2500 this year. We are now considering starting a remote interview on video this fall, says Forfang.
But video interviews complicate ID work, which is the job of the police. PU shall ensure that it is the same person who applied for the transfer and who comes to Norway.
– Usually, fingerprints are taken at both the place of residence and upon arrival in Norway. But with a remote interview, we must discuss with the UDI how to get the necessary ID and security checks.
– Our most important job is to keep track of which foreigners in the area of responsibility are in Norway at all times, says Olafsen.
PS! UDI chief Frode Forfang expects an increase in asylum inflow now that the borders of Europe are gradually re-opening. In a press briefing on Thursday, Forfang said the numbers have crept up slightly in June, but from a very low level.
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