![SWEDEN-EUROPE-MIGRANTS Denmark refugee crisis](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/dennmark-refugees.jpeg?quality=85&w=2400)
Denmark is considering a new law that would allow officials to take jewelry and other valuables from refugees who arrive in the Scandinavian country.
The law, reported by the Washington Post, would allow authorities to search migrants “with a view to finding assets which may cover the expenses,” a Danish official told the paper. The official said the country would not seize objects needed to survive like phones and watches or objects with sentimental value.
If passed, the legislation would be the latest step the nation has taken to discourage the millions of Syrian refugees from seeking shelter within its borders. Denmark has also slashed benefits for newly arrived refugees and taken out an advertisement in a Lebanese newspaper to discourage potential migrants from trying to reach the country.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- Politicians Condemn Trump Rally Shooting: ‘No Place for Political Violence in Our Democracy’
- From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America
- ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
- Remembering Shannen Doherty , the Quintessential Gen X Girl
- How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets?
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com