At the Parapolitika Group pavilion at the Thessaloniki International Fair, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, outlined new ministry initiatives to tackle illegal immigration.
Speaking to Parapolitika 90,1 hosts Thanasis Fouskidis and Penny Avramidis, he stated: “Our citizens are asking for even stricter measures rather than leaving loopholes. Under the Prime Minister’s guidance, we will follow a ‘legally strict’ policy.”
The keyword, as he explained, is “return.” “Those who entered illegally and whose asylum applications have been rejected will be imprisoned for 3 to 5 years. If their application is approved, they will be integrated into the labor market,” he added.
He also noted that “The Left says we can bring people to solve the demographic issue, but Greece is a homeland, not just a territory.”
Excerpts from Thanos Plevris’s interview on Parapolitika 90,1
Among other points, he emphasized:
PLEVRIS: The government policy I’m following on immigration is Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government policy that began in 2019. Now we’re in a phase where Europe is listening to us, and this dominant policy is based on the fact that whoever enters illegally and doesn’t qualify for asylum must return. So with this bill, we’re increasing returns by criminalizing illegal stay.
PLEVRIS: On immigration matters, citizens are asking us for even stricter measures rather than asking us to leave “windows” open. So I’m ready to serve the strictest immigration policy under Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s guidance. The doctrine is prison or return. When you criminalize illegal stay, it means that sir, you who entered and whose asylum was rejected, know you have two choices: either go to prison for 5 years or return. But when you receive asylum, you must have a skill to enter the labor market, and we can cover gaps with people who receive asylum.
PLEVRIS: The invitation part didn’t succeed. Countries with which you have relations prefer their citizens to come through illegal routes because there’s terrible bureaucracy. We need to work on this a lot.
Regarding yesterday’s speech by Mr. Tsipras
PLEVRIS: Alex Tsipras yesterday did something that for me represents an identity disagreement – he connected demographics with immigration. Demographics isn’t a numerical issue, “we’re missing so many, let’s bring so many” – that’s population replacement. Saying I need labor and obviously to cover these gaps people should come here to work is perfectly logical, but it’s completely different to say I’ll cover the absence of Greeks, the fact that fewer Greeks are being born and we have more deaths by transferring migrants. Greece is a homeland, not just a space, and the Greek nation is a nation, not an unorganized population.
PLEVRIS: The Left has a perception – not believing so much in what we call the “national core” – telling you “are we missing people? Bring them from Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan.” That you brought them here to work and solve issues is one conversation, and even that must be done thoughtfully, but to say “they’ll solve my demographic problem” is the disappearance of the Greek nation.
