The pressure has been on, and the EU has made a concession of sorts:

The European Parliament on Wednesday approved more stringent migration measures that grant member states wider-ranging powers to deport failed asylum-seekers.

EU lawmakers approved the changes to EU policy with 418 in favor to 218 against and 30 abstentions.

That’s not a close vote.

More:

Under the new system member states will be allowed to establish so-called “return hubs” in non-EU countries.

A non-EU national found to be staying illegally within a member state will be obliged to leave the EU country “immediately or within a given time,” the European Parliament said.

A migrant or asylum seeker in such a situation could find themselves in “return hubs” in other countries that have an agreement with EU member states.

These agreements “may only be concluded with third countries that uphold human rights, international law and the principle of non-refoulement.”

Under the legislation, the person may be detained, should they fail to cooperate with local authorities or if they’re found to pose a security risk.

Seems like it will only deal with a small percentage of illegal aliens, the ones who get into the most trouble with authorities. And where will they go? Where are these countries that protect human rights and yet want to accept the deportees?

Here’s a hint:

[Cyprus’ Migration Minister] Ioannides said the “general idea” is to set up return hubs “maybe in Africa or Asia” but “not close to European borders.”

I’m still trying to figure out where these hubs might be. And so are they:

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who is opposed to the returns deal, said at last week’s meeting that he was worried return hubs would be built “without safeguards” for people’s rights, “to the point that a family with children could be returned to countries with which they have no ties.”

Luxembourg’s Minister of Home Affairs Léon Gloden said his country would object to sending women and children to return hubs, despite backing the centers being set up.

Maybe the idea is to motivate illegal aliens to self-deport back to their host countries, or not to come to EU countries in the first place, if there’s no guarantee of being allowed to stay.

NOTE: Makes me think a bit of the way Australia was settled (at least in part), as a way of clearing out Britain’s overcrowded prisons.