An Algerian repeat offender was finally deported from Austria on Sunday after six previous attempts to remove him failed, prompting renewed criticism of the country’s immigration enforcement system.
As reported by Heute, the man allegedly entered Austria illegally from Hungary in early 2024. He was subsequently arrested in connection with burglary, damage to a vehicle, and attempted burglary.
After serving another prison sentence, he was detained again in 2025 over a drug offense. Authorities later placed him in deportation custody following another break-in, but repeated efforts to remove him from the country were unsuccessful.
It ultimately took seven attempts before the deportation was completed.
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz said the case exposed a government system that was incapable of promptly enforcing its own decisions.
“That this man was finally deported is thanks to the efforts of the law enforcement officers involved,” Schnedlitz said. “Politically, however, this case is no cause for celebration.”
He argued that requiring seven attempts and around two and a half years to deport an illegal migrant with multiple convictions showed that the Interior Ministry had lost control of the process.
Schnedlitz said Austrian citizens had been left to bear the consequences while police officers were forced to operate within a dysfunctional and bureaucratic deportation system.
“People rightly expect legally binding decisions to be enforced and that criminals are not repeatedly released, allowed to disappear, and strike again,” he said.
The FPÖ called for foreign criminals to remain in deportation detention until their removal, stronger identity verification, more effective repatriation agreements, and deportations to be completed on the first attempt.
“Austria doesn’t need a deportation lottery where the rule of law has to hope that it might work on the next attempt,” Schnedlitz added.
