The government's national coordinator, Teresa Zetterblad, has sent letters to all municipalities to arrange meetings to strengthen the work on voluntary repatriation.
But Stockholm is now saying no to such a meeting.
"We see a risk that people perceive themselves as unwanted," writes Alexander Ojanne (S), social and security councilor in the city of Stockholm, in a written response to the government's coordinator, according to Mitt i.
Stockholm is the latest in a series of municipalities to reject the government's invitation. SVT's survey shows that resistance is strong, not least in northern Sweden, where Jokkmokk, Boden, Kiruna, Gällivare, Överkalix, Pajala, Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog, Luleå and Kalix have all refused to engage in dialogue with the government.
“Suspicious”
Gothenburg also gives the same message, reports GP. Among other things, citing that the issue of remigration is not a municipal matter.
"It is also our position that the government's unilateral focus on remigration, just as the responsible investigator has reasoned, appears to have the purpose of making people with a foreign background suspicious," writes the red-green majority in the municipal government in its response to the Government Offices.
Minister's response
Migration Minister Johan Forssell, however, rejects the criticism and says that most municipalities are positive about the invitation. He claims that the views mainly come from opposition-controlled municipalities that are “trying to score political points.”
"These are primarily municipalities led by social democrats, left-wingers and environmentalists. This proves what I have been saying all along, that they are still following a completely irresponsible migration policy. The same policy that led Sweden into the refugee crisis in 2015," says Forssell.
He also wants to emphasize that the repatriation grant is voluntary and "is not aimed at people who work and do the right thing for themselves."
"You can think about how democratic it is that municipal politicians should decide what information their citizens should receive. It is a completely voluntary return contribution and I think people should be allowed to decide on it themselves without Social Democrats and left-wing parties playing gatekeepers," he says.
