Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) presented the idea in her New Year's speech; it is now being introduced as a bill.
"For example, if you are convicted of rape, aggravated assault or another serious crime, then you are no longer in Denmark," she said at a press conference on Friday.
"Taking a risk"
Some observers point out that the law may conflict with the current interpretation of the European Convention. According to the Danish Ministry of Justice, there is a significant risk that Denmark will be found to have violated the convention if it is implemented.
"We are taking a risk with this, and we are prepared to take it to protect the Danes," says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S).
If the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg does not change its practice, Denmark will comply, the government says, but it hopes the law will lead to more deportations of immigrants who commit crimes. The government believes that human-rights rules too often prevent the deportation of criminal foreigners.
"Some experts may believe that we are violating the convention by doing this. We see it the other way around," Frederiksen said, pointing out that, according to her, 27 out of 42 countries in the Council of Europe want to change the current interpretation of the convention.
Want to deport people born in Denmark
In Frederiksen's speech, she mentioned a specific example of an Iraqi man. He was born in Denmark and has never been to Iraq.
At the press conference, the Prime Minister was asked why it is Iraq's responsibility to receive a criminal who has lived his entire life in Denmark.
"It is strange to be born in Denmark and then thank us for our hospitality by committing a serious crime," said Mette Frederiksen.
"If he has citizenship there, he has citizenship there."
