Azzjoni Nazzjonali and the Campaign for National Independence yesterday launched a petition to push MPs to take concrete steps to stop illegal immigration into Malta.
At a meeting organised by CNI, to highlight the problems of illegal immigration, AN leader Josie Muscat said the time had come for concrete action to address the situation.
"If we are not tough, the day will come when the country will contain two very different and culturally conflicting populations," something, Dr Muscat insisted, Malta had no space for.
Describing the EU immigration pact which the government recently signed as a "missed golden opportunity", Dr Muscat said he was prepared to back any initiative that would address the problem of illegal immigration effectively.
He urged the government to adopt a proposal which was outlined in AN's electoral programme. This pushed for the regulation of illegal immigrant employment, which in turn would safeguard illegal immigrants from abusive, inhuman and illegal working conditions while ensuring they were paid the legal minimum wage and that taxes were deducted from that income.
During the meeting, CNI chairman Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici said that all that had been done so far to supposedly curb illegal immigration, such as the Frontex initiatives and the immigration burden-sharing pact, had only served to encourage it.
What Malta needs, he insisted, was to simply stop accepting illegal immigrants which it did not need and which would only be a burden to the country. However, he underlined that he was not simply referring to north-African immigrants but that illegal immigration from any country had to be curbed.
"We have no space for illegal immigrants, even if they come from heaven," he maintained.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said CNI was not suggesting that Malta turns its back on those who need help, urging the people to recognise their duty to help those in need by every means possible.
However, this was not best achieved by integrating immigrants but by providing assistance to the countries they were fleeing from, he said.