Immigration Pact: Yea or Nay? CPAC Poland Speakers Support Refusal To Implement Immigration Quotas Under New EU Law

The recent wave of right-wing party victories across the European continent, including those in Hungary, Italy, and the Czech Republic, points to an exciting trend: European voters value conservative ideals and want to embrace them through democratic means. Just under two months ago, CPAC hosted its first-ever conference in Poland, bringing together leaders from across the region in favor of a conservative Eastern Europe. Speakers covered a wide range of topics, including why the EU’s new Green Deal is bad for everyday Europeans, strengthening the US-Polish alliance, and bringing back traditional values of faith, family, and freedom. There was also a notable focus on immigration by several speakers, with the recent spotlight brought on by the EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum.  

Central to the new Migration Pact is the “mandatory solidarity” that gives governments three options from which to choose. They can opt to relocate a given number of asylum seekers, pay a financial contribution, or provide operational support such as personnel and equipment. Polish officials have been outspoken in their opposition to the Pact, and particularly the solidarity mechanism, since it would force the country to take in migrants against its will. Poland has already taken in an estimated two million or more Ukrainian refugees in the wake of Russia’s invasion and continued fighting. The added number of asylum seekers through the Pact would create undue pressure and strain for Poland, according to leaders at CPAC Poland.  

Immigration enforcement was brought up by Karol Nawrocki, the conservative president-elect of Poland. Among other hot-button issues, he discussed Poland’s right to “defend Polish borders.” He said that it is the president’s responsibility to “guard the security of the country” and keep Poland out of the Migration Pact, helping prevent another flood of “foreign migrants incoming from Africa and from the Middle East whose culture [is] so different from ours.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke about the effectiveness of a physical border, which the United States has proven in recent months with its southern border wall. She noted that “encounters at our border are down 93% since [President Trump] has been in office.” By electing the right leader, she argued that Poland can set the example that “the rest of Europe and the world will watch” because the right leader will “protect [Poland] and defend it,” ensuring the safety of Polish citizens and the Polish border.  

With added security at its borders and no new EU asylum seekers, Poland is looking to protect the conservative values held by a majority of its people, and some Eastern European countries agree. Voters have spoken, and they want principles that illegal immigration does not bring in. They want strong enforcement of border security and legal migration in order to protect their conservative values of faith, family, and freedom.