Caroline Muscat
Sweden orders deportation of 550 immigrants back to Malta
Sweden has ordered the return of some 550 immigrants to Malta in just over two years, statistics obtained by The Sunday Times show.
In 2008, Sweden decided to transfer 179 illegal immigrants, a figure that shot up to 315 the following year. In the first two months of this year, 49 people were told to leave the Scandinavian country.
However, to date only 179 immigrants have actually been transferred according to the Swedish migration office. It is not clear why some 370 immigrants who were ordered to leave have not yet reached Malta, though sources said the majority probably managed to evade the clutches of the immigration authorities.
In 2009 alone, it is estimated that 450 migrants were returned to Malta from EU member states. The majority are being sent back from Scandinavian countries, according to sources.
Sweden is facing harsh criticism from international organisations Save the Children and the Red Cross because child refugees are among those deported.
The organisations accused the Swedish migration board of sending back refugees to "dangerous and unhealthy" conditions in detention centres in Malta.
The head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Fr Joseph Cassar, expressed "shock" at the Swedish government's actions.
Migrants in Malta who are granted refugee status or subsidiary protection are entitled to a travel document which allows them to apply for a visa and travel. Although they are supposed to return to Malta, the government does not to keep track of the number of people who fail to return.
Sources told The Sunday Times the actual number of illegal immigrants in Malta is likely to be much lower than official figures suggest, as hundreds leave and never return.
But if they are caught in another member state the migrants are returned to Malta under the Dublin Regulation, which allocates responsibility for examining an asylum application to the EU member state that the migrant first entered. Each EU country is obliged to take back its applicants who are irregularly in another member state.
Currently, those being transferred under the Dublin Regulation are not always able to access an asylum procedure. This puts people at risk of being returned to persecution.
But the strain on Malta was acknowledged by Bill Frelick, director of refugee policy at Human Rights Watch, who said Italy, Greece and Malta had an unfair burden for examining asylum claims for Europe under the Dublin Regulation.
"The solution lies in amending the rules so that EU states will share the burden equitably," Mr Frelick said.
According to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and the UN Refugee Agency the system fails to provide fair, efficient and effective protection.
There are also a number of cases in which the European Court of Human Rights has, under its rule 39, instructed governments not to carry out Dublin transfers.
In one case, the court issued interim measures halting transfers from Finland to Italy and Malta (one each); both were women, the former a minor, and the latter with a five-month-old child.
The Dublin Regulation has come under criticism from the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament - last April it unanimously voted in favour of suspending the EU's Dublin Regulation in the case of countries which are facing disproportionate migratory pressure.
A comprehensive report, commissioned by the same committee and made public last January, confirmed that Malta had "the lowest capacity" to deal with the problem based on the size of its economy, its population size and density. The report also concluded that EU initiatives to alleviate the burden had little or no impact on the country.
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sean grima
Mar 22nd 2010, 15:55
actually, i am writing from malta., and i prefer being a do-gooder than a do-badder
Patrick Sacco
Mar 21st 2010, 21:53
@Sean Grima
Where are you writing from, Canada maybe? Or are you a 'do gooder' yourself?!
sean grima
Mar 21st 2010, 19:39
who shall be doing the expulsions? the minority extreme right wing politicians who will never get a seat in parliament? the anti-immigrant opinions are mere wishful thinking - thankfully, wishes which are shared by a small, irrelevant, minority.
lgalea
Mar 22nd 2010, 15:45
It is you and the other do-gooders who are an irrelevant minority as evidenced by all online polls conducted by different media sean.
L. Petersen
Mar 21st 2010, 15:29
Sweden has received huge numbers of refugees and immigrants for decades, and more than 12 % of the population is now foreign born. There's no point in blaming them for lawfully sending back illegal immigrants. If refugees could move around as they wanted, they would all go to Scandinavia due to the high standard of living and generous welfare benefits.
That being said, I agree that the current situation is unacceptable for Malta, but the solution is to stop/limit illegal immigration rather than discuss how to share the burden. Maybe burden sharing is a necessary first step though, since it would encourage all EU members to contribute to stemming the flow of illegal immigrants.
John F. Portelli
Mar 21st 2010, 14:13
Mr. Summut, you are so correct. That is what some in maltese "do gooders and other church people are suggesting. Go to Europe and break the law. In the past, the Emigrant Commission could handle the handful of illegal immigrants or migrants Malta was getting. The game now has changed though and this issue is now not the Emigrant's commission problem, but the Maltese government. It is also the government that has allowed this problem to fester and unless the government takes a firm stand, we will be in real trouble as some other readers have suggested. The time to act is now. the time to take a strong stand against illegal immigration is now. No one is going to want our problem. No one is going to be symphatetic to our problems. And why should they. They have their own problems to deal with. Let's not be naive here in Malta and let this issue get out of hand. With the current policy toward accepting all illegal migrants on our soil, we are compromising our security. When security breaks down, who are we going to call for help. Europe. Please. time to wake up and smell the coffee.
lgalea
Mar 21st 2010, 13:40
Fr Joseph Cassar, just put tour money where your mouth is and go to the illegal immigrants own countries and do your missionary work there because the illegal immigrants shall NEVER be accepted to integrate with us. Just shows how you are undermining Malta and Maltese society and you also want to undermine all the european societies.
Denis Catania
Mar 21st 2010, 13:39
If something is not done soon illegal immigration will destroy Malta.
Patrick Sacco
Mar 21st 2010, 13:16
All this hassle and trouble could have been avoided had we repatriated the first group of illegal immigrants.
Raymond Sammut
Mar 21st 2010, 12:05
Why is Fr Joseph Cassar expressing "shock" with the Swedish government? The migrants are breaking Swedish immigration laws each time they are given a visa by the Maltese authorities to travel and then refuse to return to Malta as is required by the visa restriction which also applies to everyone else. Is Fr Joseph Cassar suggesting that people travelling from Malta to European countries should be allowed to break immigration laws of those countries? Clearly, Fr Joseph Cassar should clarify his position on whether he holds respect for law, else he should be reminded that no-one is above the law.
John Azzopardi
Mar 21st 2010, 11:02
The time has come for malta to establish a strong policy on the illegal immigration issue. What is Malta doing with the current illegal immigrants here in Malta reaching an astronomical amount of 10,000 unwanted illegals and what will it do when a new influx will start coming in the coming months. Beg for a european solution. We all know what the answer will be from Big EU brothers and sisters........Take care of your own problems. Well, time has come to seriously address this issue before it becomes a problem beyond our country. As for Sean Grima, he seem to be living in lala land. He is really something, not realizing that countries are made or broken by just a few men. Let's act now before it's too late. Start an immediate deportation program. Time is of the essense.
Louise Vella
Mar 21st 2010, 10:29
2
“The head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Fr Joseph Cassar, expressed ‘shock’ at the Swedish government’s action”.
Is this all that the Jesuit Refugee Service has to say? Can Fr Joseph Cassar not be more eloquent than this? Can he not go into details? Does the Jesuit Refugee Service forget how many long-winded reports it has written to criticize Malta and the Maltese for not welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms? Does the Jesuit Refugee Service forget that it has been putting pressure on all and sundry to accept increasing numbers of illegal immigrants in Malta?
“the actual number of illegal immigrants in Malta is likely to be much lower than official figures suggest”.
Whatever the official figures suggest, we keep seeing increasing numbers of illegal immigrants roaming the streets of our towns and villages. They are a threat to Malta’s social stability, to our economy and to our security.
sean grima
Mar 21st 2010, 10:51
"They are a threat to Malta’s social stability, to our economy and to our security". A totally unsubstantiated statement.
Muscat D
Mar 21st 2010, 11:23
@S . Grima.
But they are substantiated. Have a look at this. These are the 2008 figures for rapes. I sure the trend remains the same. If you do your calculations correctly you will find that rapes by foreigners ( note nationalities) are more than 6 times the Maltese rate .
http://www.pq.gov.mt/PQWeb.nsf/10491c99ee75af51c12568730034d5ee/c1256e7b003e1c2dc1257513004d49a5?OpenDocument
On the ministry of Justice site, you will also see how many are arrigned in court on thefts , fights etc. Yes, there is a problem with security. Just last week it was reported that a girl was indecently assaulted and had her mobile stolen. Soon, no one will go out after certain hours in some areas of Malta. Burying your head in the sand will not make the problems these people bring with them go away.
A Zammit
Mar 21st 2010, 11:26
@Sean Grima
Given the situation, it seems that Sweden would disagree with you on that one, and who can blame them? The multiculturalism-experiment has been failing repeatedly since it's inception.
lgalea
Mar 21st 2010, 13:38
Sean grima, its your statement that is totally unsubstantiated. Malta was NEVER opened for ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION and whether youi like it or nto we shall make sure that every single illegal immigrant that is in Malta SHALL be expelled whether you and your ilk like it or not. If you want to be in their company just go to their own countries and live with them there because there is no way that they are going to be accepted to remain in Malta.
Louise Vella
Mar 21st 2010, 10:28
1
Let’s not forget that Sweden is also the country that is always trying to tie Malta’s hands in our struggle against illegal immigrants. Sweden is always the country that leads by preaching to us and then it does not practise what it preaches. Enough to see everything that the Swede Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU Commissioner responsible for illegal immigrants, says and does. She is the one trying to make Malta take all the illegal immigrants picked up by Frontex anywhere in the Mediterranean Sea.
“The organizations accused the Swedish migration board of sending back refugees to ‘dangerous and unhealthy’ conditions in detention centres in Malta”
So whatever we do, illegal immigrants cause problems for Malta. If we give them good conditions they stay and we are lumbered with them. If we give them bad conditions we get criticized. There is only one way out. Stop illegal immigrants from coming to Malta in the first place.