Tough on Immigration

Almost 70 percent of Swiss voters backed moves making it easier to send rejected asylum seekers home, as well as lengthen periods of detention for potential deportees and cut financial aid to people whose claims are turned down.

The same percentage approved new immigration legislation that aims to overcome what supporters say is a lack of integration of many legally resident foreigners in Swiss society.

Switzerland's right-wing justice minister, Christoph Blocher, who piloted the legislation, and other supporters have repeatedly said that the law is essential to crack down on "bogus" asylum seekers.

"The aim of this reform is to uphold Switzerland's humanitarian tradition while at the same time halting abuses," Blocher said in a recent speech.

Demanding documentation

Like some of his European counterparts, Blocher -- a politician from the right-wing Swiss People's Party -- claims that many document-less asylum seekers turn up empty-handed deliberately to make it more difficult to send them home or investigate claims of persecution.

To counter such alleged trickery, the new law would require all asylum seekers to present documents within 48 hours of making a claim, and severely restrict applications from people who cannot present any identification.

That key plank of the reform has sparked strong debate. Critics -- including the UN refugee agency -- argue that it is often impossible or too risky for people who face a threat to get documents from their home authorities before fleeing. International refugee rules, which have been in place since 1951, say that such individuals should not be shut out of the system.

Blocher has noted that the new law nonetheless contains safeguards for those who are "clearly" refugees and can provide a "plausible" explanation for their lack of documents.

More restriction

The new rules would also cement tight restrictions on financial support for rejected asylum seekers who have been in place for two years. Authorities would be able to place "recalcitrant" foreigners in detention for 18 months -- rather than the current nine months -- prior to deportation to ensure they do not go underground, and to encourage them to leave.

Blocher has said that it is essential to streamline the system, cut costs and reduce the temptation to make spurious asylum claims.

But critics counter that Switzerland does not need a crackdown, because it is far from being "swamped": 18,844 people applied for asylum in 2005, one of the lowest numbers in almost two decades. Around 35 percent of applicants have been granted asylum over the past 10 years.

Swiss lawmakers have already passed the legislation, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum, the linchpin of the Alpine country's democratic system.

The 4.8 million Swiss voters can have the final say on issues in popular votes which are held several times a year.