American border control agents are used to dealing with people of many different nationalities crossing into the country from Mexico. But in the past couple of years, officials have noticed a slight but curious uptick in a specific group of European citizens claiming refugee status.
As nationalism and xenophobia grow in Europe, the number of Romanians entering the country claiming to be part of the persecuted Roma minority has also been steadily rising: Nearly 1,800 Romanians were apprehended through July this year, up from less than 400 in 2015. Almost all applied for asylum, citing fear of hate crimes and persistent discrimination that limits their opportunities in Europe.
The new influx is tiny in comparison, but a sign of increasing desperation with Europe’s inability or unwillingness to protect their rights, Roma activists say.
“At this moment, Roma are not welcome, migrants aren’t welcome, the environment is hostile and marked by violence, even in Western Europe,” Ethel Brooks, a professor at Rutgers and chair of the Board of European Roma Rights center, told FP. In some Romanian cities, it’s still common to encounter segregated public spaces and signs that read “no dogs or gypsies,” she said.
Rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch continue to document systemic discrimination against Roma in EU countries. The U.S. State Department’s 2015 human rights report on Romania, the country where the recent crop of asylum-seekers is emigrating from, pointed out discrimination against Roma as “a major problem,” citing complaints of harassment and police brutality, denial of service in public places, school segregation, and inadequate health care, among other related problems.
