The Sweden Democrats want all municipalities in Uppsala County to halt the reception of asylum seekers as of next year. The proposal is based on a new Settlement Act coming into effect at the turn of the year, which gives municipalities significantly greater influence over how many newcomers they want to receive.

In Östhammar municipality, Måns Lorichs, group leader for the Sweden Democrats (SD), has presented a proposal that the municipality should not accept any asylum seekers at all starting next year, except for people from Sweden’s immediate vicinity, such as Ukrainians. According to the party, the goal is for the same position to be adopted throughout Uppsala County.

Lorichs refers to the new legislation which means that municipalities will to a greater extent be able to decide how many newcomers they wish to receive. He argues that this change provides an opportunity to drastically reduce reception after many years of high immigration.

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“Immigration has harmed Sweden and thanks to the government’s decision, we now have the opportunity to stop it,” Måns Lorichs tells the national broadcaster.

The proposal is being rejected by the Centre Party. Jacob Spangenberg (C), chair of the Östhammar branch, believes the municipality both has the capacity and the responsibility to help people fleeing war and persecution.

“It is a pathetic proposal not to want to help people in flight. Östhammar is a well-functioning municipality, and therefore it is a given for us to help out,” he says.

Forced to accept more

The issue is not new in Östhammar. As early as 2023, the then municipal leadership decided that the municipality did not want to accept quota refugees and other assigned newcomers.

This decision was against the previous Settlement Act, which did not allow municipalities to say ‘no’ to state-allocated arrivals. Thus, the municipality continued to receive newcomers according to prevailing rules.

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However, the legislative amendment that comes into effect on January 1, 2027, changes the conditions. Under the new rules, municipalities will be able to submit wishes regarding how many newcomers they want to admit, and these requests are to be accommodated in some cases.

At the same time, there remains an obligation to receive persons assigned under the law, but responsibility for the allocation will transfer from the county administrations to the Swedish Migration Agency.

So far, no other major parties in Uppsala County have backed the Sweden Democrats’ proposal for a general stop. The issue is expected to become part of the local election campaign ahead of the 2026 elections, not least in light of the amended legislation and the increased influence for municipalities over admissions.

Complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman

The proposal has led to further debate and upset feelings in Östhammar. Earlier this year, a statement from the Sweden Democrats in the municipality about repatriation was reported to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO).

In a Facebook post, Måns Lorichs wrote that the municipality should begin work in which “maladjusted immigrants” would be encouraged to return to their countries of origin. The complainant considered these formulations to be “dehumanizing” and in violation of the objectivity and impartiality required of municipal representatives.

No information is available on how the Ombudsman responded to the complaint.

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