The Latest: Rights groups urge EU migrant policy about-face

PARIS – The Latest on migration issues in Europe (all times local):

3:25 p.m.

Human rights and aid groups are calling on the European Union to make it safer for refugees to reach Europe rather than try to keep out people seeking sanctuary or better lives.

The 25 NGOs said in a statement Wednesday they are “gravely concerned” about EU policies that make it harder to seek asylum and put the burden for handling the problem on overwhelmed Greece.

They said that “in any other part of the world, Europe would be calling on governments to improve the situation. Instead, European countries are shifting their protection responsibilities on to countries outside the EU.”

Their appeal comes on the eve of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels focused in part on migration, notably the bloc’s efforts to persuade Turkey to stop refugees coming to Europe.

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12 p.m.

A German pro-refugee group says that around 50 Afghans will be deported to their homeland after being rejected as asylum-seekers in Germany.

Pro Asyl said that the group of Afghans would be deported on Wednesday night from Frankfurt airport.

The German government has declined to confirm any upcoming deportations, saying that it never announces such measures.

So far, Germany has deported very few Afghan migrants. Instead, it has tried to convince them to go home on a voluntary basis by offering financial incentives upon their return.

Recently, however the government has said it would toughen its stance on rejected asylum-seekers and that more people would be deported.

Around 890,000 migrants arrived in Germany last year, with many coming from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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11:40 a.m.

Funded by Britain, a wall has been built to stop migrants from jumping onto trucks in the northern French city of Calais heading across the English Channel.

The threat, however, appears to have already receded.

Regional spokesman Steve Barbet says no migrants have been reported trying to hop a truck since French authorities dismantled Calais’ refugee camp in October. He said Tuesday that police scouring the city and the surrounding area daily have found no new camps, though a handful of migrants still gather at the port.

He says the new 4 metre-high (13-foot-high) concrete wall along a Calais highway aims to deter future migrants.

Thousands of migrants from the Mideast and Africa, who had converged on Calais after fleeing conflict and poverty, have now been dispersed across France.