Focus now
The association 17 000 is currently focused on helping the individuals — many of them young people who grew up in Sweden — who are unfairly being deported from the country.
It was a figure in the news — 17,000 — that once gave birth to this artwork. Today there is a new group of people behind similar figures: teenagers who have attended Swedish schools, learned Swedish, built friendships and dreams here, and who now face being sent to countries they barely remember.
According to Aftonbladet's survey, 92 teenagers were deported alone from Sweden in a single year. Most were in upper secondary school when they received the news. The association 17 000 believes it is our duty, as fellow human beings — and as a society — to see each such young person not as a case number, but as an individual with a future.
The association 17 000 supports organizations and individuals working for a fairer and more humane review of young asylum seekers' cases, and helps their stories reach a wider audience. Every piece of art purchased in this collection goes toward that work — empathy, compassion and respect turned into concrete action.
A selection of articles and official documents describing the situation:
Aftonbladet · 2026-03-24
Aftonbladet's survey of young people deported alone — most of them still in upper secondary school. 92 teenagers in a single year.
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International Rescue Committee (RESCUE) · 2026-03-12
A review of the causes behind the rising number of teenage deportations and the consequences of stricter migration rules for young people.
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Östhammars Nyheter · 2026-04-04
A data-driven review of how many teenagers are actually deported — and why the figure is so hard to establish, since the Migration Agency does not use this category.
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Sveriges riksdag — Daniel Bäckström (C) · 2026-02-13
Member of Parliament Daniel Bäckström holds the government to account on the issue of teenage deportations.
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Sveriges riksdag — Migrationsminister Johan Forssell (M) · 2026-02-18
The migration minister's official answer to parliament's written question on the deportation of teenagers.
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Among the most high-profile cases are young people who grew up in Sweden with their families — went to school, learned Swedish, built lives here — but who suddenly receive a deportation notice as soon as they turn 18 and are counted as adults in the asylum process. Often siblings and parents are allowed to stay, while the young adult alone is to be sent to a country they barely remember.
These individual fates lie behind the figures in the debate — and are what the association 17 000 wants to make visible.
Aftonbladet · 2026-03-11
Aftonbladet has mapped 40 cases where young people are deported alone — without their families — after turning 18. Many have waited years for a decision from the Migration Agency and become adults in the meantime.
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Nyheter24 · 2026-02-13
An explainer on why young people suddenly receive deportation notices when they turn 18 — while their parents and siblings are allowed to stay in Sweden.
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Folkets Tidning · 2025-12-15
Wafik came to Sweden as a teenager. Seven years later, at age 20, the deportation decision arrived — even though his life and family are here.
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Expressen · 2026-02-14
Four points explaining the heated debate about young people deported after turning 18 — even though the rest of the family gets to stay in Sweden.
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Arbetsvärlden · 2025-12-23
Lawyer Karin Gyllenring meets executives at international companies who regret taking jobs here now that Sweden has started deporting 18-year-olds. Despite a new bill, the Migration Agency sees no solution.
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Sveriges Radio — Ekot · 2025-11-20
Children of labor migrants who grew up in Sweden risk being deported as soon as they turn 18, even if their parents hold residence permits.
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By buying one of the 17,000 pieces of the artwork, you support the association's work for a more humane asylum process in Sweden — and become part of a permanent reminder that every individual counts.