The Swedish parliament on Monday adopted a law obliging public sector workers to report to the police any migrants who are not authorized to live in Sweden. Critics said it will create a climate of fear and could negatively impact migrants' physical and mental health.
The law is part of Sweden's efforts to tighten its approach to migration and comes as the European Union overhauls its migration system, including to expedite deportations.
“This is the latest measure in a long list of extremely problematic regulations on migration,” Jacob Lind, a migration expert from Malmo University, told the AP after the vote. “It has a symbolic meaning because it amounts to snitching by some very important state agencies."
John Stauffer from Swedish nonprofit Civil Rights Defenders told the AP that the fact that the law passed so narrowly, with 174 votes in favor and 172 against, indicates how much opposition there is in Swedish society.
Teachers, doctors and social workers have been exempted from the reporting obligation, following criticism.
Sweden will now make it compulsory for employees of tax authorities, employment and social insurance agencies and prison and probation services, among others, to tell police when they have reason to believe the people they come in contact with do not have the documents required to live in the country.
“Reporting obligations imposed on public agencies create a climate of fear that harms not only undocumented people but everyone who depends on these institutions,” Louise Bonneau from Brussels-based nonprofit PICUM, which supports migrants, told the AP.
The Swedish government has argued that it needs more measures to ensure those who are not legally allowed to stay in Sweden can be returned to their home countries.
The new law contradicts basic human rights of migrants and encourages racial profiling, a group of researchers from three Swedish universities warned in March, referring to a discriminatory practice by which authorities suspect a person of crimes on the basis of their race or ethnicity rather than evidence.
The researchers interviewed public servants about the ethical concerns the new law will bring to their work.
In an example the researchers gave, if a mother who has no legal right to stay in Sweden gives birth, the midwife does not have to report her to police; however, the information about the baby will reach the tax authority, which is obliged to report the family.
“It creates a huge deterrence effect to be in contact with a healthcare professional,” Bonneau said. “We'll see what happens in practice. Will we see people fearing to be in contact with authorities, issues of maternal health, of the children being born?”
In 2005, Germany adopted legislation asking public authorities to report migrants without valid residency status, potentially leading to their deportation. The law only applies to some public institutions such as welfare offices, while schools and hospitals are exempted.
Nevertheless, migrants in Germany are known to avoid exercising their right to medical care because of the requirement to obtain a document from the welfare office in advance, which exposes them to reporting to migration authorities.
To address that, several institutions offer healthcare specifically for migrants without valid residency status, usually in large cities like Berlin.
In 2018, the U.K. government revised a policy that had permitted immigration officials to obtain patient information from the National Health Service, following concerns that the arrangement deterred migrants from seeking medical treatment and undermined the confidentiality of patient records.
Under the revised rules, the Home Office was restricted to accessing only the names of people suspected or convicted of crimes who were subject to deportation proceedings.
Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Brian Melley in London contributed.
A member of Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) votes on new justice legislation in Stockholm, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP)
Vice Speaker Kenneth G. Forslund gavels as the Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) votes on new justice legislation in Stockholm, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP)
The Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) votes on new justice legislation in Stockholm, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. Today, just six months after taking office, the 34-year-old democratic socialist's political strength is surging.
Always a darling of the far left, he has earned praise from both President Donald Trump and former Democratic critics like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. He has emerged as the face of the region's sports renaissance. And days before New York's primary elections, Mamdani is testing the limits of his newfound political muscle in a bid to reshape the Democratic Party — in his state capital and in Washington — even if it means challenging his own party's leadership.
Mamdani will join Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. at a get-out-the-vote rally in Brooklyn on Thursday. The event is designed to elevate a slate of candidates aligned with Mamdani's values, including two running against Democratic incumbents in Tuesday's primary.
“He’s seeing that opportunity — that we can radically change the Democratic Party,” said Faiz Shakir, a senior adviser to Sanders and a friend of Mamdani's. “Like Bernie, he's not saying I'm doing this out of spite against you, dear leadership. He's saying, I am supporting these candidates who have a better vision, and I am prepared to lose if it has to be the case.”
Establishment Democrats are not pleased with the mayor's decisions.
Mamdani endorsed political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier over Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in New York's 13th District, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
He is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in New York's 10th District. And in New York's 7th, he's supporting democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez against outgoing Rep. Nydia Velazquez’s handpicked successor.
The Mamdani slate, in addition to several state Assembly candidates, will be featured at Thursday's rally.
Valdez says the election is about advancing the political movement Mamdani ignited on his way to City Hall.
“Right now there’s really mass dissatisfaction with the way the party leadership has been operating and not standing up strongly enough to Trump,” she told The Associated Press, contrasting the malaise to the way the mayor energized voters last year.
She said she hopes to “bring a partner to Zohran to Washington.”
Valdez's primary opponent, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, said he feels like the underdog in the race, even though he was endorsed by the outgoing incumbent. He said Mamdani “has a celebrity status that we haven’t seen the likes of since I’ve been alive.”
“He’s going to be our champion for the foreseeable future and he’s doing a great job, and when he says that he’s endorsing someone, it matters,” Reynoso said in an interview. “I believe that this community has seen me work, they know I’m a progressive champion, and in any other circumstance I would be a favorite to win this race, but I’m not because he has tipped the scale.”
The candidates are largely aligned on the biggest issues, although there are modest differences.
Israel’s war with Gaza has featured heavily among the Mamdani slate, with Lander, Valdez and Avila Chevalier casting their Democratic opponents as too soft on Israel. They're echoing the mayor’s steadfast criticism of the country’s leaders and harnessing what they believe could be a driving force in this year’s elections.
The mayor’s candidates have also sought to replicate much of the platform that sent him to City Hall, focusing on the city’s high cost of living and framing themselves as fresh faces not beholden to powerful business interests.
On Capitol Hill, Democrats are pleasantly surprised that Mamdani has become less of a political liability for the party in swing district seats than they once feared.
But Mamdani’s endorsements have aggravated intraparty fissures, especially among moderates who worry that Mamdani's far-left brand may eventually tarnish the entire party.
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New Yorker, has tried to push back against the Mamdani-backed democratic socialist challengers, endorsing and campaigning for the embattled incumbents in a proxy fight with the mayor.
But Jeffries and Mamdani have opted to wrestle only in primaries rather than bicker publicly and feed into GOP narratives of Democratic disarray.
“Democrats must understand, and both the leader and Mamdani appreciate this, how to yell in areas where we agree and whisper in areas where we diverge,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist who works with House Democrats.
For now, Jeffries' allies acknowledge that Mamdani has energized Democratic voters and may be able to reach some Americans who have checked out of the political process. They also prefer that Mamdani is hyper-focused on New York City’s governance rather than traveling across the country nationally.
Republicans, however, have plans to elevate Mamdani's profile whether Washington Democrats want them to or not.
The GOP hasn't made Mamdani a central feature of its broader national messaging as it once threatened, but Republican operatives have sought to link Mamdani to Democratic House candidates in swing districts across California, Colorado and Wisconsin. They also believe the specter of the New York City mayor will loom large in pivotal House races in New York and New Jersey.
The Republican bet is that vulnerable Democrats cannot afford to break with Mamdani too cleanly for fear of alienating progressive voters, even as they cast him as a radical.
“Zohran Mamdani’s socialist brand is as toxic as it comes,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm. “And during a time when Democrats don’t have a leader or a message, he’s exactly the kind of bogeyman we can use against Democrats to truly show who is leading their party and the crazy policies they all support.”
Meanwhile, Sanders' adviser Shakir encouraged the Republicans to try. He noted that Sanders mentions Mamdani in almost every speech as he tours the nation rallying voters ahead of the midterms.
“The crowd just goes nuts,” Shakir said. “He certainly is not a political liability.”
Brown reported in Washington.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives to take part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Sunday, June 14, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
