Sweden told people to open their hearts to immigrants 10 years ago. Its U-turn has been dramatic

Sweden is often viewed as a a liberal utopia in Europe and beyond, with the country of 10.5 million people known for its stable economy, high quality of life, and open and progressive society.

That reputation for acceptance and tolerance was manifest in 2014 when asylum-seekers started to arrive en masse in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe from war-torn areas of the Middle East, particularly Syria.

At the time, Sweden's then-Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt implored citizens to "show tolerance," telling the public: "I know that this will cause friction. I therefore call on the Swedish people to show patience and open their hearts."

Sweden registered 81,301 asylum-seekers in 2014, data shows. By 2015, that number had doubled to almost 163,000 and in November that year, Sweden said it needed "respite."

"It pains me that Sweden is no longer capable of receiving asylum seekers at the high level we do today. We simply cannot do anymore," Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said at a now-infamous news conference which saw the deputy prime minister break down in tears.

Since then, Sweden's immigration policy has been on a one-way street. It became tighter under the center-left coalition government in power until late 2022, and even more strict under the current conservative administration led by the center-right Moderate Party but propped up by the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Under the aegis of the nationalist party, Sweden's government has adopted an increasingly restrictive and — critics say — hostile stance when it comes to immigration, reversing years of liberal policy in the area.

It says it is implementing a "paradigm shift" in its migration policies as it targets "sustainable immigration."

As it stands, around 2.1 million of Sweden's