EU to crack down on people refused asylum

European Union countries are set to agree a crackdown on migrants refused entry into the bloc and move to swiftly send them home.

More than 500,000 people have arrived this year seeking sanctuary or jobs, sparking the EUs biggest refugee emergency in decades.

But some 40 percent of people who fail to obtain asylum or residency in the 28-nation EU over the past several years have been sent home.

EU interior ministers will agree on Thursday that “all measures must be taken to ensure irregular migrants' effective return,” according to a draft statement seen by The Associated Press.

Those measures include the “use of detention as a legitimate measure of last resort.” Even though member states have had the right to do so, it has rarely been enforced.

[AP]