OPINION: Swedish media must get better at covering immigrant perspectives

For almost two decades rejected asylum seekers have taken the only legal recourse available to them – thanks to the country’s “track change” programme (spårbyte) they could stay in the country on a work permit as long as they managed to secure employment.

On March 12th this pathway to residency disappeared when politicians voted in the Riksdag to abolish the option.

This was widely expected, but immigrants who had grasped the opportunity with both hands were horrified to learn that the new rules were to be applied retroactively and that they now risked expulsion from Sweden.

Last week we were covering this story intensively at The Local. We interviewed a Migration Agency boss, wrote about a campaign calling for the introduction of transitional rules and published the distraught reactions of those affected.

We also planned to discuss the spårbyte repeal in our podcast. One of the things we wanted to talk about was how national media outlets were reacting to a vote that was causing such upheaval among immigrants. And that’s when we realised: they weren’t reacting at all! There was absolutely zero coverage of a law change that the Migration Agency estimates will affect 4,700 people.

And while there’s been a trickle of coverage in the past few days, it’s astonishing that it took so long.

As foreigners in Sweden know all too well, the current government thrives at baking retroactivity into immigration changes. When the salary threshold was raised in 2023, many foreign taxpayers in sectors like healthcare and forestry were shocked to discover that their days in Sweden were numbered.

But very little of the coverage focused on those most directly affected. Employer groups had their say, bemoaning the economic impact and finding themselves in the unusual position of criticising a government of the right. Opposition politicians kept their counsel, unwilling to rock the boat on a potential vote loser like immigration.

Meanwhile, untold numbers of foreign nursing assistants and machine operators quietly left Sweden under cover of media darkness. Unwanted and already forgotten.

We’re seeing a similar situation now with Northvolt. Thousands of workers who came to Sweden with hopes and dreams will have three months to find new employment or leave the country.

Sweden’s decision makers are not facing nearly enough questions about the three-month deadline and the strain it puts on all these people, many of whom want nothing more than to stay here and continue contributing to society.

We often hear that Sweden is a country built on trust and social cohesion. But the foundations are eroding in front of our very eyes. At least if you ask many immigrants. Never before have I seen so much disillusionment and anger towards Sweden as I’m seeing now. People who moved here in good faith feel betrayed and abandoned when the rules they were told to follow no longer apply.

Why is Sweden apparently intent on punishing people for doing exactly what’s expected of them? People who got a job, learned the language and worked hard to integrate. And why are work permit holders so invisible in coverage of legislation that upends their entire lives in Sweden?

Hardly a day goes by without the Swedish media reporting on immigrant hardship in far-flung parts of the world. And that’s great, immigrants everywhere need support.

But it’s easy to be hemmablind, to use an excellent Swedish word describing those who are quick to criticise others while underestimating the problems on their own doorstep. Swedish media, take note.

A version of this opinion piece was first published in Swedish in Journalisten, the trade union magazine for journalists in Sweden.