Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat said today that his party was pleased that the PL had adopted seven of its 10 proposals on illegal migration. Speaking at a press conference in reaction to last week's debate in Parliament, Dr Muscat said AN was the only party which was consistent on illegal immigration.

He said that up to the last election the PL was holding back from admitting the severity of the problem to the point, he said, of admonishing its own MPs who dared to speak the truth on illegal immigration.

Dr Muscat said that while it was true that not all illegal immigrants were responsible for an increase in crime or health risks, the fact remained that they posed a disproportionate risk and featured in a disproportionate manner.

He said that some proposals made by PL leader Joseph Muscat last week served to dilute the action that needed to be taken to solve the problem.

"Policies that include building further reception centres and refurbishing those that have been repeatedly destroyed, not only send out the wrong message but also raise the serious doubt of whether the PL was acting out of political convenience rather than conviction."

He said that last week's debate demonstrated that neither the PL and nor to a larger extent, the PN, understood the fact that for the problem to be solved – Malta needed to send an unequivocal message to the prospective illegal immigrants, the EU and the international community that Malta was full up and that it did not pay to get here.

He also harshly criticized Medecins sans frontieres – and said that their behaviour was proof that many of these NGOs are not apolitical organizations but rather unrepresentative bodies with a political agenda. Their press conference announcing that they were pulling out was timed to cause maximum damage.

Dr. Muscat insisted that the maximum sentence for human trafficking of five years was an insult to justice and exactly the wrong message to send. He said AN has proposing the automatic penalty of lifetime imprisonment and the confiscation of assets for those who choose to deal in this despicable business.