An armed Russian police officer outside the Kremlin in Moscow, 19 May 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE / MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved legislation in its second and third readings on Tuesday that will allow police officers to decide whether or not to deport foreigners and stateless citizens, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.
While deportation orders can currently only be issued by judges or immigration officers, the legislation currently going through the Russian parliament would grant police officers powers to deport foreigners as well as the right to request information and documents about detained individuals from other state agencies and even foreign states and banks.
Under the legislation, foreigners who are found to be in Russia illegally will also be added to a register of controlled persons and be required to inform local police of their whereabouts. Anyone on the register will be prohibited from buying real estate, driving a car, travelling within Russia, getting married, or opening a bank account.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin also announced the creation of a State Duma Commission on Migration to be headed by Irina Yarovaya, a deputy for the ruling United Russia party who has co-authored multiple laws limiting civil rights, including the registration requirements for those deemed to be ”foreign agents” by the government.
Having passed all three readings in the State Duma, the bill must now be approved by the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by Vladimir Putin.
