The letter Migrants Should Not Be Treated As Criminals (August 5), by Michael Conti, raised many issues related to illegal immigration into Malta. I shall react to just a few of them.

First, the fact that most illegal immigrants destroy their identification documents before arriving in Malta puts in doubt their good faith. The yearly reports of the Refugee Commissioner confirm that one of his problems is trying to sort out the true refugees from the economic migrants, and the true declarations from the false ones. Obviously, many of the illegal immigrants would qualify for repatriation to their country of origin if their nationality were known; so they resort to fictional stories.

Second, all countries have the right to defend their borders from the entry of illegal aliens and to determine their immigration policies. No foreign state or international organisation - whether governmental or non-governmental - has the right to impose such policies. Admittedly, the Maltese government has been weak in its defence of Malta's interests, but it has also been subjected to "humanitarian blackmail". In many cases it is put in the situation of either letting people drown or letting them into Malta. But the matter has now escalated into an industry; trafficking in human beings has become a lucrative business. Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici declared in an interview (MaltaToday, June 15) that Malta is expecting between 1,700 and 2,000 illegal immigrants this year, adding that "there is also a contingency plan if more arrive". This has led to the perverse result of attracting more illegal immigrants this year, which has already broken all records for arrivals. Obviously a more determined policy stance is called for. In particular, the government should affirm its right (and duty) to defend and control our borders.

Mr Conti refers to non-English speaking illegal immigrants in the detention centres being "talked to in broken English and occasionally ... insulted in Maltese". He did not say what language non-English-speaking illegal immigrants speak. Surely it is not up to Malta to equip itself with speakers in exotic African languages to converse with our uninvited guests. Besides, everybody knows that Maltese detention officers are insulted and harassed by the detainees. I invite readers to look at Report On The Three-Day Seminar With Detention Officers on stress management by Dr Charles Cassar, a psychotherapist. It can be accessed on the House of Representatives' website (www.parlia ment.gov.mt/information/Papers/6453.pdf).