In what sometimes seems to be a race to the bottom among European countries to see who can be the least welcoming to asylum seekers, Denmark last week adopted an appallingly cruel strategy: stealing from people fleeing war. A law approved by the Danish legislators allows immigration authorities to seize valuable items, including jewelry and cash, to offset the cost of resettling them.

The law is Denmark’s latest effort to repel Syrians and other refugees. Last year, the Danish government published ads in Arabic and English in Lebanese newspapers announcing that it had cut social programs for asylum seekers by 50 percent. The ads warned that those who managed to slip in and apply for asylum would be kicked out of the country “quickly” if their petitions were rejected.

When the ads didn’t stop the human tide, lawmakers introduced a bill to lengthen the amount of time refugees admitted to Denmark would have to wait to sponsor close relatives for immigration from one year to three. That bill, which passed with strong support last Tuesday, also allows the immigration authorities to confiscate jewelry and other valuable items worth $1,450 or more.

Denmark has absorbed a significant number of refugees. It admitted roughly 20,000 asylum seekers last year, making the nation of 5.6 million one of the top recipients of refugees per capita in Europe. But, like many other Western nations, it is panicking about the costs and burdens of the largest displacement crisis since World War II. The United States, for instance, has admitted only 2,647 of the more than 4.5 million Syrians who have been displaced by war. Several Republican candidates have preposterously promised to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States.