Voluntary return costs less than forcing migrants home

It costs less to send illegal immigrants back to their countries through assisted voluntary programmes than to do so using force, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.

The former Justice and Home Affairs Minister, who had his share of scrapes with humanitarian NGOs when he staunchly defended Malta's detention policy, said voluntary return programmes give immigrants a dignified way of returning home when they do not qualify to remain in Europe.

In this connection, he made specific reference to the Maltese, EU-funded pilot-project Dar, which will run till January 2009.

The minister was speaking at a seminar which discussed the best repatriation practices of European and African countries.

Speaking about the local situation, he said that, despite the efforts of Frontex, the problem of illegal immigration was worsening due to limited cooperation from Libya. Since Malta is so densely populated, immigration is having a big impact on society and the economy, resulting in a "feeling of unease", he added.

"While Malta does its best to integrate as many immigrants as possible, it cannot provide enough of the jobs, shelter and social services that are required."

Dr Borg also complained of a lower-than-expected response from other EU countries to help share Malta's burden and said that, in the light of this, Malta needed a credible return policy for those immigrants that do not qualify to stay in Malta.

Immigrants coming from Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan were among those recently repatriated through the pilot project but the numbers were limited due to the complex problems faced by the authorities.

Before the cogs can start turning, the authorities have to earn the trust of the returnees in order to get their consent and, often, their true identity and nationality. Then the government has to secure the cooperation of the authorities in the countries of origin through identification processes and the release of travel documents.

Once approved, the migrants are provided with assistance at all stages of the return home in the form of cash grants, business start-up packages, job training, travel documents and flight tickets. Checks are made at every step of the way to ensure that the assistance is not abused of and that the migrants manage to reintegrate properly in their home countries.

Forced repatriation, on the other hand, requires chartered flights and supervision by a large number of police officers, which together add up to a bill that exceeds the aid given through voluntary return, Dr Borg explained, adding that Malta was benefiting a lot from the experience and know-how of other countries that had adopted return programmes.

The seminar, organised by the Foreign Ministry and European Commission and held at the Old University Building, in Valletta, included the participation of countries which have scenarios as varied as those of Denmark, Ghana, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

"Proportionately, Malta is the EU member state that has been hit most by this phenomenon," Dr Borg told representatives of the other countries, pointing out that the problem started off with 60 immigrants in 2001 and increased to 1,600 in 2002. This year saw a 30 to 40 per cent increase with about 2,400 immigrants reaching Maltese shores.

Dr Borg stressed that the problem is first and foremost a human tragedy, with a conservative estimate of 600 people dying in the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Europe.