Polish Government Seeks Voters' Stance on 'Thousands of Illegal Immigrants'

(Photo : FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP) (FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images)
The Polish government is seeking a referendum to know voters' stance on the migrant crisis and what they think of letting "thousands of illegal immigrants" take shelter in the nation.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is seeking to hold a referendum on irregular migration to ask voters within the nation about their stance on the "thousands of illegal immigrants."

The official wants to ask the country's people if they support accepting irregular immigrants as part of a European Union relocation plan. The prime minister announced his plan for a vote on Oct. 15 in a video published on social media over the weekend. The vote will be held alongside Poland's parliamentary elections.

Poland Seeks Referendum Regarding Illegal Immigrants

Morawiecky asked, "Do you support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa under the forced relocation mechanism imposed by the European bureaucracy?"

In the video announcement, a Black man could be seen licking a huge knife in anticipation of committing a crime. Additionally, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski later asked if the people wanted chaos to happen in Poland and stop the citizens from being the masters of their own country, as per Aljazeera.

The video announcement suggests that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party will use migration in its election campaign. This has been a tactic that allowed it to take power back in 2015.

In June, EU interior ministers endorsed a plan to share out responsibility for refugees and migrants who were arriving in Europe without documentation. It has been considered the root of one of the bloc's longest-running political crises.

Even at the peak of Europe's refugee crisis, Poland has neither been a country of entrance nor a destination country for migrants seeking shelter. But in 2021, the nation suddenly became a front-line state in the migrant crisis after people started trying to enter Europe from Belarus by crossing through Polish territory.

Addressing the Migrant Crisis in the Region

The question about migrants entering the nation is one of the four that the right-wing party wants to ask in the referendum. On social media, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that the question would ask citizens if they support removing the barrier on the border of the Polish Republic with the Republic of Belarus, according to Yahoo News.

The Polish government built the wall last year and substantially reduced the number of incoming Middle East and African migrants across the border. Officials from Poland and the European Union see the migrants coming into the region as an attempt by Belarus to generate turmoil in the countries.

Additionally, the Polish government reinforced military troops along that particular border due to Belarus' alleged hostility. The other questions that officials will ask in the referendum would focus on accepting migrants within an EU program, refusing the privatization of state-owned enterprises, and agreeing to raise the retirement age.

The situation comes as Poland currently hosts more than a million Ukrainian refugees, primarily White and Caucasian. But some officials view Muslims and other people who come from different cultures to be a threat to the country's cultural identity and security, said CBS News.