Finland’s parliament passed a law Friday allowing border guards to stop asylum seekers from Russia. Parliament declared the bill “urgent” and quickly passed by a vote of 167-31.

The law is temporary and will only be effective for one year after its enactment. In that timeframe, it allows the government to review and restrict the reception of applications for asylum. This effectively allows the Finnish government to limit asylum requests on its eastern border and remove those who have entered, by force if necessary.

The bill comes amidst mounting worry over Russia’s alleged use of migrants to destabilize nearby countries like Finland. In particular, it is in response to surging migration from Russia across Finland’s eastern border. That surge incited Finland to completely shut its border in December 2023 and to reconsider its migration policy; the summary of a recent report by the Parliament’s Administration Committee discusses how the policy is aimed at stopping the “instrumentalisation of migrants” for political ends. In connection to that, it cites the purpose of the act to “prevent third country nationals from becoming tools of Russian hybrid influence.”

Despite its strong support within Parliament, some civil society organizations have criticized the act. For example, Amnesty International stated in a press release that the law “calls into question Finland’s commitment to the rule of law.” They claim that the law contradicts the accepted international law principle of non-refoulement, the principle which forbids a country receiving an asylum seeker from returning them to their previous situation of probable danger.