Some 400 people turned up this evening for a Solidarity with Migrants Walk held in St Julian's to protest over plans for the repatriation of migrants currently having Temporary Humanitarian Protection.
The activity was also held in support of nine Malians who have spent more than two months in detention awaiting deportation.
The event started near the Love monument and proceeded silently towards Balluta.
Organised by a group of concerned citizen, the event was also attended by Marlene Farrugia (Democratic Party) Karl Gouder (PN) and Arnold Cassola (Greens).
Some participants held placards calling for respect for human dignity and inclusion, while others held out placards with their arrival to Malta.
The walk of solidarity was organised after it emerged last year that the Temporary Humanitarian Protection – New status for rejected asylum seekers, known as THPn, would be halted as from this November.
Those who wish to remain in Malta need to procure documentation from their country of origin that could allow them to apply for a residence permit.
Last week, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said that a group of migrants at risk of deportation should be allowed to "continue to live and work productively as they have been doing".
Addressing the crowd today, the head of the Department for Inclusion and Access to Learning, Colin Calleja insisted that it was an almost impossible feat for undocumented migrants to procure a passport from their country of origin.
He added that the people involved were not “just migrants” but people who deserved dignity just like everyone else.
Meanwhile, government whip Godfrey Farrugia, who also attended the march, told the Times of Malta that he believed that justice should prevail.
“As a family doctor and public person I believe that we need to find a solution. I respect the rule of law and the tough decision that this government faces but I believe that we should find a solution for these people who have been living with us for years,” Dr Farrugia said.
Moviment Graffitti, which also participated, said the horrid treatment by the authorities of people who have been living and working in Malta for many years was disconcerting.
It said removing humanitarian protection would achieve nothing. "It will only increase social tensions and push hundreds of people to the margins, create social problems and put people at higher risks of poverty."
“We believe that there should be a path to long-term regularisation for people who have built their life here and developed meaningful relationships, as is the case of THPn and the Malians awaiting deportation.”