I know we’re all busy with the election taking place here in the United States, but it’s worth remembering that the Europen Union is still dealing with a crisis of refugees, migrants and the occasional terrorist slipping across their various borders. The leaders of the EU nations haven’t forgotten, however, and are busy working on the problem. What’s less often discussed is that one option they frequently explore is deporting some of the new arrivals. Or at least they’d like to. The problem is that the countries of origin for some of these travelers frequently don’t want to take them back. What’s a leader to do? In the case of Germany’s Angela Merkel the answer is sometimes to simply start offering them money. (Washington Post)

As Europe reels from a historic rush of migrants, leaders are searching for new ways to reverse the flow by stepping up deportations.

The quest led to a deal with Afghanistan that envisions a whole new terminal at the Kabul airport to take deportees. It sent German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week on a whistle-stop tour of African capitals, where she promised an influx of euros in exchange for willingness to take back migrants. And it resulted in an agreement with Turkey that critics say means European nations are biting their tongues about Ankara’s human rights abuses to halt refugees from flowing to Greece.

The efforts come amid a global backlash to immigrant flows, which have increased because of war and poverty.

As part of her African tour to sell off the people Germany is trying to deport, Merkel suddenly began speaking like a conservative in the United States. Check this quote out. (Emphasis added)

“We had to find ways to stop illegal migration,” Merkel said during a trip to Ethiopia, where she balanced criticisms of a fresh government crackdown on the opposition with bargaining over doing more to stop migrant flows to Europe. “That is why we said: “We must speak to Turkey, because many of these people came from there. We also have to speak with African countries to bring about legality.”

You had to find a way to stop illegal migration? Welcome to the party, pal. We’ve been dealing with that for some time now here in the United States and I seem to recall our being lectured on our ‘heartless” attitudes from folks on your side of the pond on more than one occasion.

Of course, these deals currently under discussion really aren’t new. Note the part where she says that they must speak with Turkey. Merkel and other EU leaders are raising more than a few eyebrows by including Turkey as a major player in deporting migrants, but anyone who was paying attention knows that this process was actually cooked up back in March. At that time, Turkey agreed to shut the gates to a serious extent, but in exchange they wanted Euros and a plan to ship some Syrians to select European destinations.

Now, however, Turkey is in the midst of sinking into tyranny under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He’s making his own people disappear at an alarming rate. What do you suppose is happening to illegal immigrants who suddenly wind up back on his doorstep? It’s a tangled mess over in Europe right now and Turkey is acquiring more and more influence every month. This latest bit of wheeling and dealing is only adding to the leverage Erdogan has over our allies.