Europe Taking Most Asylum Seekers Since 2017.

2 months ago 4

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Europe saw the largest number of accepted asylum claims since 2017 last year.

👥 Who’s Involved: European Union (EU) member states, asylum seekers.

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📍 Where & When: Eurostat announced the 2024 figures on April 25.

💬 Key Quote: “This is the highest value since the peaks recorded after the refugee crisis related to the war in Syria in 2016 and 2017.” — Eurostat.

⚠️ Impact: The stats come as Europe supposedly tries to clamp down on illegal migration, proving that the issue remains unresolved.

IN FULL:

Europe accepted more asylum applications from migrants in 2024 than in any year since 2017, totaling over 430,000 migrants. The European statistics agency Eurostat announced the numbers this week, noting that half of the migrants came from either Syria or Afghanistan.

“This is the highest value since the peaks recorded after the refugee crisis related to the war in Syria in 2016 and 2017,” Eurostat said in a press release.

Germany saw the largest number of accepted asylum claims, making up 34.4 percent of the overall number. Over 185,000 migrants were given full refugee status, while over 169,000 were given subsidiary protection so they could not be deported. Nearly 14,000 migrants entered Europe as part of a United Nations (UN) program, with nearly half ending up in Germany.

Close to half of those who applied for asylum in 2024 were rejected, with Portugal accepting only ten asylum seekers last year, the highest rejection rate in Europe at 99.2 percent. Germany, on he other hand, rejected just 46.6 percent of applications.

Notably, even rejected asylum seekers are often not deported, even if they are officially served deportation orders.

This year, the European Commission, the EU’s unelected central executive, reported that France may overtake Germany as the most popular destination for asylum seekers. France recorded over 40,000 asylum applications in the first three months of this year, compared to just over 37,000 for Germany.

In recent years, many European Union member states have switched to focusing on controlling illegal migration and prioritizing the deportation of those who have no right to stay, as establishment political parties seek to head off electoral advances by anti-mass migration populists. Sweden is offering as much as $34,000 to migrants who wish to go back to their home countries.

Despite the change, the 2024 statistics show the number of illegal immigrants flowing across the borders of European member states remains historically high.

Image by Mstyslav Chernov.

PULSE POINTS:

❓ What Happened: Attorney General Pam Bondi has described the circumstances that led to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arresting Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan on April 25, 2025, for allegedly obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) by helping a previously deported illegal alien, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, escape arrest at her courthouse.

👥 Who’s Involved: Judge Hannah Dugan, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, ICE agents, and Eduardo Flores Ruiz, a Mexican illegal with a domestic abuse charge.

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📍 Where & When: Milwaukee County Courthouse, Wisconsin, with the incident occurring on April 18, 2025, and the arrest on April 25, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “The Judge learns that ICE was outside to get the guy… She comes back into the courtroom… Takes the defendant and the defense attorney back in her chambers… and tells them to leave.”

⚠️ Impact: Dugan’s arrest underscores the Trump administration’s strong stance on immigration enforcement, potentially deterring judicial interference while intensifying federal-local tensions over sanctuary policies.

IN FULL:

The FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan on April 25, 2025, charging her with obstructing an ICE operation after she allegedly helped an illegal alien evade arrest. The incident, which unfolded on April 18 at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, has intensified the debate over the role of judges in hindering immigration enforcement, with the Trump administration signaling a no-tolerance approach.

Speaking on Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Judge Dugan intervened when ICE agents arrived to detain Eduardo Flores Ruiz, a Mexican migrant previously deported in 2013 and facing misdemeanor battery charges related to domestic abuse. Bondi detailed the events: “The Judge learns that ICE was outside to get the guy, because he had been deported in 2013, came back into our country, charged with committing these crimes, victim is in court. Judge finds out. She goes out into the hallway. Screams at the immigration officer. She’s furious. Visibly shaken. Upset. Sends them off to talk to the chief judge. She comes back into the courtroom. You’re not going to believe this. Takes the defendant and the defense attorney back in her chambers. Takes them out a private exit and tells them to leave. While the state prosecutor and victims of domestic violence are sitting in the courtroom.”

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrest, stating that Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse,” allowing Flores Ruiz to initially evade capture. ICE agents later apprehended him after a foot chase, but Patel noted the judge’s actions “created increased danger to the public.” Dugan now faces felony charges of obstruction and concealing a person from arrest, which could lead to up to six years in prison if convicted.

Dugan, elected as a judge in 2016 and endorsed by Milwaukee’s Democratic mayor, previously served as head of Catholic Charities, where she supported refugee resettlement—a background some argue may have influenced her decision to shield Flores Ruiz. The case echoes a 2018 incident in Massachusetts, where a judge faced charges for helping an illegal immigrant escape ICE, though those charges were later dropped.

Democrats have suggested the arrest of a judge by federal authorities signals an authoritarian turn by the Trump administration, but administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have turned a line previously used against President Trump back against them, stating that “No one is above the law.”