This text is intended primarily for you who are an undocumented immigrant, whether you are detained or not. The text is also intended for friends, family, neighbours, classmates, colleagues — everyone that knows undocumented immigrants that can get into this situation. This flyer has been made as an attempt to stop deportations by regular flights. That, since deportations usually occurs on passenger flights. Stopping the deportation does not mean one gets residency permit, but it can buy time to try and find other alternatives if one has gotten the asylum application rejected. When ones life is in danger, the only alternative might be to try and stop the flight.

Rejection

When you get your rejection from the Migration Court, the Migration Board will call you to a meeting, so called “återvändandesamtal” (return conversation). The meeting is to inform you about the deportation decision, but also to pressure you to cooperate in your own deportation. They ask you to present an ID and travel documents, to sign papers that you want to return voluntarily and to cooperate with the embassy and other authorities in acquiring travel documents if you lack a passport. If the case worker deems that you are not willing to cooperate, or if you do not show up for the meeting and don’t contact them — they will turn your case over to the border police. The police usually quickly starts looking for the person that is to be deported where they think it might be. If you are detained and taken to a detention centre by the police you have three days to suggest a public defender in your case regardingdetention. It is very difficult to overturn the detention decision using the legal system, but it is better to be aided by a lawyer that cooperates with you rather than the police.

Detention

If one is put in a detention centre/refugee prison one is deprived of liberty. One has the right to get visits at certain times. At the refugee prison the staff will try to persuade you to cooperate with the police in getting a passport or sign a paper on voluntary return. The police makes a decision each or every second month on whether or not you will remain locked up. If you can’t be deported they must release you after a year.

Ahead of the deportation

You will be called to a meeting with the border police. When they tell you that you are to be deported it is important to find out as much information as possible. Demand to get a time and date for departure, any intermediate landings, if anyone is to go with you on the plane and which airport you will be leaving from. Be stubborn. It is probable that they attempt to keep this information from you. This information is needed for friends and others involved to help you in stopping the deportation.

During the deportation

Ensure that someone else at the refugee prison is in contact with your friends on the outside. Your mobile phone will be taken from you when the police is to drive you to the airport. Then the person inside the refugee prison can call your friends and tell them that you are on the way to the airport. Already in the car on the way to the airport you can start protesting and saying you don’t want to go. There are examples of people that have successfully stopped the deportation in this way. The police will bring you on board the plane before the airline company lets other passengers on board. That is because they want to see if you are quiet and calm before others arrive. It is the pilot on the plane that has the power to decide if you will be going or not. If there is a security risk on board the pilot can refuse to bring a passenger. Some have asked to speak to the pilot and explained that they can’t go back and the pilot has then refused to bring them. The most common and effective way has been to scream, say you won’t cooperate, refuse to sit down and put on the seat belt and continue doing so until they take you off the plane and drive you away. Even if the plane takes off it is not too late to protest. There are people that have managed to stop the deportation during the intermediary landing and that then were taken back to Sweden, but it is of course better the sooner it happens.

Risks

There are risks to trying to stop ones deportation. It is not unusual for the police to use violence to impose silence on the plane and also as punishment if you succeed in stopping the deportation. The police can also use handcuffs and legcuffs to restrict your mobility. Undocumented immigrants that are to be deported have been drugged to be made more passive. Some are locked up at remand prison after succeeding in stopping the flight. Those that are driven back to the refugee prison usually get their block changed. This because the police don’t want others to know what they have managed to do. The purpose of this information is not to scare anyone off resisting, but it is good to know what can happen and be able to prepare mentally for what it can mean.

If you are to be deported and want support, contact Aktion mot deportation (Action Against Deportation) at amdsthlm@gmail.com (Stockholm) or antidep@gmail.com (Malmö/Skåne). More information is available at aktionmotdeportation.se or at the Aktion mot deportation facebook page.