ScreenshotGuest post by Gina TedescaLast week, Brussels passed a new migration policy: the Return Regulation. Millions of illegal migrants could be deported from Europe soon. Notably, the right-wing and center-right groups successfully drove this legislation through the European Parliament.More than a decade ago, Europe threw open its doors to the biggest wave of mass migration in modern history. The mood was euphoric: banners reading “Refugees Welcome” and chants of “No one is illegal” filled the streets of Berlin, Paris and London. Today, that same continent is demanding deportations, border controls and return hubs. The left is devastated. Brussels, of all places, has become the engine of change.The Right Takes OverThey tried everything to stop it. Allegations of Russian influence campaigns were deployed against right-wing movements. Romania’s newly elected president was removed from office before he could take power. The right-wing faction at the European Parliament was split and undermined at every turn. None of it worked.Europeans voted anyway — and they voted right. A right-wing majority now controls the European Parliament, and with it, the future of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. Conservatives, facing the relentless pressure of their own voters, had little choice but to align with the demands of parties like Germany’s AfD: strict laws, real enforcement, and an end to what critics call the era of the “fake refugee.”The result: deportation via return hubs, toughened external border procedures and the return of systematic border controls — measures that would have been unthinkable in the Merkel era.The European Parliament chanted ‘send them back’ as the return regulation was passed by a majority of 418 to 218 votes – MEP Petr Bystron (AfD) captured the historic moment:SEND THEM BACK! Großer Jubel im EU-Parlament: Die Rückführungsverordnung ist beschlossen! pic.twitter.com/vA0Ywl2l1U— Petr Bystron (@PetrBystronAfD) June 17, 2026The Scale of the ProblemThe numbers tell a story that mainstream politicians spent years refusing to confront. According to Pew Research Center estimates based on 2017 data, between 2.8 and 3.5 million illegal immigrants were living in Europe — including the UK — with nearly half of them in Germany alone. Given the migration waves of the years since, experts believe the true figure today is considerably higher.The reason so few were ever deported was devastatingly simple: there was no infrastructure to enforce the law. Orders to leave were issued. Planes were not sent. People stayed.A Continent TransformedThe human consequences of a decade of unchecked migration are visible on every high street. Germany records approximately two gang rapes every day, according to official police statistics — with foreign nationals accounting for roughly half of all suspects.Native European children are minorities in classrooms across major cities. Friday prayers spill onto the streets of London, Brussels and Paris as mosques overflow.Whether Brussels’ new hard line can reverse a transformation a decade in the making remains to be seen. But for the first time since the crisis began, the political wind is blowing in one direction — and it is not the one the “Refugees Welcome” generation had in mind.The post ‘Send Them Back’: Europe’s New Migration Crackdown Marks a Historic Turning Point appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.