Danish parl adopts controversial reforms on asylum seekers

Migrant children play with soap bubbles as they wait at the railway station in the southern Serbian town of Presevo, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015. As 2015 ends, boat-loads continue to reach the shores of Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast, while thousands of migrants unlikely to receive refugee status are stranded along the Balkan migrant route, their hopes of reaching the prosperous northern EU countries in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Denmark’s parliament on Tuesday adopted reforms aimed at dissuading migrants from seeking asylum by delaying family reunifications and allowing authorities to seize their valuables, legislation that has sparked widespread condemnation.

The bill presented by the right-wing minority government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was approved by a huge majority of 81 of the 109 lawmakers present, as members of the opposition Social Democrats backed the measures.