Two 22-year-old Somali twins are facing deportation from Sweden to Somalia, despite their mother and siblings continuing to live in the Scandinavian country.
Alia and her twin brother, Abdinajib, are currently being held at a detention facility operated by Sweden’s Migration Agency, Migrationsverket, and were scheduled for deportation on September 22.
According to the siblings, they were unexpectedly detained last week during what they believed was a routine visit to a police station in Skärholmen, south of Stockholm.
Alia said she and her brother were initially told they were attending a meeting, but were later transferred to a detention center for individuals awaiting deportation.
She said they were not given an opportunity to collect their clothes or personal belongings before being taken into custody.
The twins arrived in Sweden as children and were allowed to remain in the country based on family reunification grounds linked to their mother, who had fled Somalia after violence associated with Al-Shabaab.
However, once they turned 18, Swedish authorities determined that they could no longer automatically derive their right to remain in the country through their mother’s residency status.
On April 29, Migrationsverket ruled that the twins could not continue residing in Sweden.
A migration court had previously assessed that the evidence presented by Alia was insufficient to establish that she qualified for international protection or asylum under Swedish law.
Their case has attracted attention as Sweden prepares to introduce new immigration regulations on October 1, 2026, aimed at addressing the status of some young adults facing deportation.
The proposed changes form part of a broader political agreement among parties supporting the government and have sparked debate within Swedish politics.
The twins’ lawyer, Eva-Lena Hanervorsh, said it remains unclear whether the new rules will apply to her clients.
She has submitted a request to Migrationsverket seeking a suspension of the deportation order, arguing that the upcoming legal changes, as well as the twins’ right to family and private life, should be taken into consideration.
Hanervorsh also said she is preparing an application to the European Court of Human Rights in an effort to secure an urgent intervention that could halt the deportation if Swedish authorities do not suspend the order.
According to documents cited in the case, Sweden’s border police have already contacted Somali diplomatic authorities and reportedly arranged the travel documents required for the deportation process.
The case has reignited discussion in Sweden over immigration policy, family reunification rules, and the treatment of young adults who arrived in the country as children but later lose their legal basis for residency after reaching adulthood.