New rules could be used to send asylum seekers to countries with which they have no links if they are “deemed” safe.

The European Parliament has passed new legislation that would allow member states to deport migrants to designated “safe” countries outside the EU, even if they are not from those countries.

European lawmakers approved the measure on Tuesday by a vote of 396 to 226, with both centrist and far-right members supporting it.

Under the new rules, EU countries will be able to send asylum seekers to third countries they have just transited through, provided they are deemed to respect “international standards” for the treatment of migrants.

If an agreement is reached with the host country, they can also deport asylum seekers to a “safe” third country with which they have no previous contact, the Guardian reported. The rule is expected to take effect in June.

The move highlights a rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the EU over the past decade, broadening popular support for far-right parties.

The legislative text, which requires final formal approval by the governments of the 27 EU member states, marks a sharp strengthening of EU migration policy since the influx of more than 1 million refugees and migrants in 2015-16.

Human rights groups have warned that the policy could be used to deport migrants to countries with which they have no ties and where they may be subject to abuse.

Meron Ameha Knikman, senior adviser to the International Rescue Committee, said: “New ‘safe third country’ rules could force people to travel to countries they may have never set foot in, where they have no community, do not speak the local language, and face very real risks of abuse and exploitation.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, the European Parliament also signed off on a list of “safe countries” that includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia.

Immigrants from some of these countries include Morocco and Tunisia, reportedly facing widespread mistreatment and abuse, including deportations to remote desert areas in tunisia.

Cecilia Strada, an Italian lawmaker in the European Parliament’s Socialist and Democratic group who voted against the designations, said “so-called ‘safe countries of origin’ are not safe”.

“This parliament has adopted resolutions against many of these countries, denouncing the deterioration of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights in these countries. Today’s vote ignores the facts on the ground,” Strada said.

Last May, EU backs comprehensive reform The European Commission has published a new migration and asylum protocol to adapt the EU’s asylum system. The agreement calls, among other things, for increased deportations and the establishment of “repatriation centres” – a euphemism for deportation centers for rejected asylum seekers.

“The text on safe countries of origin will put hundreds of thousands of people at great risk. Although the human rights situation is extremely worrying, third countries will be considered safe,” said Melissa Camara, a French Green Party lawmaker.