The EU-Turkey deal comes to parliament

Under the deal in effect since March 20, migrants and refugees who arrive in Greece from Turkey will be subject to being sent back once they have been registered and their individual asylum claim processed.

Returns are due to begin from April 4, and for each Syrian returned from the Greek islands to Turkey, one will be sent the other way for direct resettlement in Europe. Human rights groups and some governments have expressed concerns about the legality of the scheme.

 “We should be under no illusion that the EU-Turkey deal will bring an end to the refugee crisis,” Jane Waterman, of aid group International Rescue Committee, said on Wednesday, the NY Times note.

Following the Balkan border closure that preceded the Turkey deal, an estimated 51,000-plus refugees and migrants, among them Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and others fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Asia, are currently stranded in Greece.