Controlling illegal immigration

Illegal alien immigration is a crime. This is a fact. Immigration law violators are not immigrants. They are aliens who come to our islands as uninvited guests, in violation of local and international law.

There is a profound difference between individuals who legally apply for admission and fulfil all the requirements for admission and those who decide to take the law into their hands, enter a foreign country as illegal aliens and then expect to be treated as a fully fledged citizen. Labelling such violators as intending immigrants only confuses the issue and creates additional problems to those already existing.

A few of the important differences include criminal and health backgrounds of these so-called "immigrants". A lawfully admitted alien must undergo health screening and will not be admitted if found to have a communicable disease. Similarly, how can the army or police screen certain criminal convictions, when all trace of passports and identification are purposely thrown away by these people. If they do not have anything to hide, why do they dispose and discard of all trace of their identity? Just as with the smuggling of illegal contraband or drugs, trafficking alien beings, or one who enters without inspection, bypasses legal rules and regulations. This is not to suggest that the majority of illegal immigrants are criminals or diseased. However, it is a fact that a percentage of this group are.

With the latest influx this weekend of 206 illegal entrants at Gozo, the situation has now become unbearable and we have reached saturation point. The government must acknowledge that accepting illegal immigrants is not a solution to the problem, since these people come from a different culture, have different traditions, practise a different religion and simply cannot be integrated or assimilated in our society for obvious reasons, which are extremely debatable.

Each summer, the army is called to apprehend people who flagrantly violate international laws by unlawfully crossing borders and the sea, arrive in Malta and then pretend that they have a right to work and to receive publicly funded services, sometimes even with the aid of fraudulent documents.

In addition to sneaking into the country in violation of the immigration law that requires that aliens be documented for legal entry, others who enter and are given refugee status then violate the terms on which they have been admitted by taking jobs that are not authorised or overstaying the authorised period of stay in the country.

Apologists for illegal immigrants try to justify these people as victims of crime or persecution. In fact, illegal immigration causes substantial harm to Maltese citizens, as well as legal immigrants, particularly those in the most vulnerable sectors of our population - the poor, minorities and children. Illegal immigration causes an enormous drain on public funds.

While we should be paying taxes to help develop our country, we must recognise another fact, mainly that we are unable to provide high quality education, healthcare, support and security to these illegal migrants, especially when these are coming in endless numbers as poor, unskilled immigrants.

Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of local workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without secondary or higher school education.

Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth, overwhelming communities, crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing and straining precious other resources.

We need a comprehensive programme to end illegal immigration; that means ensuring that people who enter illegally or overstay their lawful status will not be able to obtain employment, public assistance benefits, public education, public housing or any other taxpayer-funded benefit without detection.

The three major components of immigration control - deterrence, apprehension and removal - need to be strengthened by Parliament if effective control is ever to be re-established. Controlling illegal immigration requires a balanced approach with a full range of enforcement improvements that go far beyond our shores.

Effective control and management of the laws against illegal immigration require adequate resources. Above all, they require action. In the face of such an extreme and acute problem, an immediate operating mechanism must be put in force to deal with this problem.