In easier times for Egyptian refugees, Azza Mostafa, a pro-government TV host, had only generous words for the many thousands of Syrians who have built new lives in Egypt after their own country imploded in the civil war of 2011.

“I would like to send a message to our Syrian families and our brothers in Egypt,” she said show 2019“you have indeed brought light to Egypt.”

But there she was on her show in June, lashing out at Egypt’s growing number of outsiders – an echo of the country’s leaders, whose policies on refugees and migrants have hardened as they grapple with economic crisis aggravated by the wars in neighboring Gaza, Sudan and Libya.

“This has become unbearable” said Mrs. Mostafaaccusing migrants of raising rents and promoting female genital mutilation. “There are many acts of border crossing. Is that acceptable? After we opened our country to them?”

Egypt has long allowed foreigners of all kinds to live and work in the country, largely without interference, whether they were refugees, migrant workers or Westerners fleeing coronavirus-induced quarantines.

The past 13 years have brought an almost uninterrupted stream of newcomers fleeing conflict to a country known among Arabs as the “mother of the world.” This includes not only Syrians, but also Sudanese, Yemenis, Eritreans and, more recently, Palestinians from Gaza.

Egypt’s lax immigration rules meant that many never officially registered as refugees or received official permission to stay long-term, yet managed to integrate almost seamlessly into the country, supporting themselves and sometimes starting businesses.

Of civil war in Sudan drove a wave of refugees to Egypt starting in 2023, however, the impoverished government in Cairo has increasingly complained about the burden of foreigners. He quickly tightened his policy — hoping, analysts and diplomats say, to win more support from international backers who want to prevent migration to their own countries.

Egypt says it spends $10 billion each year on its nine million refugees, according to officials and government-controlled media (though experts say both figures are greatly exaggerated), while Egyptians withstand the price jump and reduction of subsidies.

Years of excessive government spending, reliance on imports and policies that neglected private sector growth left the country’s finances in a precarious state before the wars in Ukraine and Gaza sent them crashing. Egypt loses $7 billion in crucial Suez Canal revenue in 2024 due to Gaza conflict compressed shipping in the Red Seaaccording to government officials.

With Egypt deeply in debt and under heavy pressure to pay for imports such as wheat and energy, the currency has fallen, while some goods have become hard to find.

Ahmed Abu Al-Yazid, head of the state-owned sugar company, Delta Sugar Company, blamed the refugees for the sugar shortage, which experts linked to the economic crisis. The president accused them of taking precious water from Egypt. On social media, pro-government accounts – some of which appeared to be fake – accused Sudanese refugees of raising rents and promoting female genital mutilation.

According to migrants, refugees and their advocates, the accusations were soon followed by a crackdown.

Sudanese refugees were circled in police actions, detained and summarily deported. Syrians who have lived in Egypt for years have been told to pay thousands of dollars to stay. Many are still hesitant to return, despite the fall of the Assad regime December, until the situation stabilizes.

Now foreign workers from Asia and other parts of Africa face additional obstacles to maintain their legal status, and in some cases have been arrested to force them to pay high fees, advocates say.

Last month, Egypt passed a law that would put responsibility for vetting refugees and others in the government’s place, instead of the United Nations refugee agency.

Government officials said the measure would ensure a wide range of refugee rights. Critics of the move, however, said it would become that much more difficult for refugees to get protection or access to health care and schools. The law also empowers the government to revoke refugee status on vague grounds such as a breach of national security, political activity or a violation of Egyptian social customs.

Abu Saleh, 32, a Syrian who works in a small grocery store in Cairo, said he had lived in the city for 13 years “without a single problem” until he discovered in July that he could no longer enroll his son in school without a residence permit.

Just to renew his family’s tourist visas, he said, he was told he would have to return to Syria and pay $2,000 per person in fees — a process he would have to repeat every six months.

“Egypt has been with us all along,” said Abu Saleh, who asked not to be identified by the name he uses around town to avoid possible repercussions. “I would like to appeal to the Egyptian government: give us a residence, even if it is a little more expensive. We are facing difficult conditions.”

Egypt has not explained its tougher attitude towards foreigners. But analysts and migrant advocates link it to the economic crisis, which has caused general bitterness and undermined the rule of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The newcomers are convenient scapegoats for Egyptians’ woes, rights groups say. Immigration fees, which are charged in dollars, can provide some of the foreign currency that Egypt desperately needs. And foreigners are also valuable pawns in Egypt’s quest for more financial support from its international partners, rights groups say.

“They think, ‘How can these people be useful to the government?'” said Nour Khalil, executive director of the Platform for Refugees in Egypt, which advocates for migrant rights.

UN Refugee Agency there are about 818,000 registered refugees in Egypt, who are entitled to free public health care and education. There are likely many more unregistered refugees, although analysts and aid workers dispute the number as high as nine million.

The benefits that registered refugees receive mean that Egypt “treats them as Egyptians, despite the fact that we are not a rich country,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at a press conference last month. “There is no country in the world that takes on such responsibilities and challenges as here in Egypt. We don’t have a single refugee camp — they are fully integrated into society.”

Refugee advocates agree that Egypt needs more funding. Unlike other countries in the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where the United States, the United Nations and the European Union have invested billions in refugee support, Egypt has not received significant funding to help house Syrian or other refugees.

That is changing.

While the Gaza war has hit Egypt’s finances, Western backers have rushed to the aid of Egyptanxious to prevent economic collapse in the Arab world’s most populous country, analysts and diplomats say. A breakdown in Egypt could further destabilize the Middle East and send a flood of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe, where there is a large public pressure to limit migration.

The European Union promised to accelerate An $8 billion aid package to Egypt in March, echoing deals with the bloc hit Mauritania, Tunisia and Turkey, which financed the implementation of migration in those countries.

Other backers, including the International Monetary Fund, sent billions more stabilize Egyptian economy.

Critics say the European pact with Egypt, like the bloc’s other deals on migration, is enabling the abuse of rights rewarding Mr. el-Sisi’s authoritarianism and potentially funding the current crackdown on migrants.

Groups including Amnesty International and the Platform for Refugees in Egypt did documented what they say is a pattern mass arbitrary arrests and illegal deportations of Sudanese refugees — some detained while being smuggled across the border, others arrested during random sweeps of predominantly Sudanese neighborhoods.

Some Syrians have also been expelled, said Mr. Khalil of the Refugee Platform. His group also documented more than 50 arrests of foreign workers, some already resident, who were held until they paid $1,000 in fees and fines, he said.

The climate of fear has brought crowds of Sudanese to the doorstep of the UN refugee agency in Cairo, seeking official protection. But obtaining refugee status can take months, if not years: dates to start the process are available only at the end of 2025. And some of the Sudanese who have been detained and deported, said Mr. Khalil, they had some form of UN identification, casting doubt on whether the organization could guarantee security.

Among those waiting outside one morning was Mohammed Abdelwahab, 36. When he and his family tried to cross the border from Sudan this spring, Egypt severely restricted what was free movement between the two countries, so they resorted to smugglers instead toga.

Without legal documents, Mr Abdelwahab and his 14-year-old son Mohanad collected plastic bottles on the streets of Cairo for a living. Mr. Abdelwahab was looking for a better job one day in June when Mohanad went missing.

Twenty days later, Mohanad reappeared with a WhatsApp message: He was arrested with a group of other Sudanese and deported.

Mr. Abdelwahab was looking for Mohanad in another city. When he returned to Cairo, his wife and three other children were evicted for non-payment.

“It’s indescribable,” he said. “They’re all camping here now,” he added, referring to his family and pointing to the sidewalk outside the refugee agency, where groups of other Sudanese waited listlessly in the sun.

Mother Mekay and Rania Khaled contributed reporting.