The expulsion of illegal immigrants is a difficult mission: some of them categorically refuse to return home

The objective is to return to the countries of origin

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the Seimas Defense and National Security Committee, says that at this time around 200 applications for illegal refugee status have been examined, but all of them have been recognized as economic migrants.

“Those people who will not be recognized as refugees should be returned to their countries of origin. That is the plan, we are doing everything possible to make this happen,” said L. Kasčiūnas.

According to him, considering the practice of other countries, this process is not simple: “There are cases, looking at the experience of southern European countries, when some people spend as much as a year or two in camps. Those countries of origin are often simply reluctant to get them back. “

One of the biggest problems, according to L. Kasčiūnas, is that Iraq does not have a readmission agreement with the EU and here is one of the biggest problems.

“There is voluntary and forced return after various procedures. Now we have to focus our efforts on voluntary return, there is a program of the International Organization for Migration, national instruments where you buy a ticket home and give a certain amount of money to settle. I know that several people have already agreed to do so, ”he said.

According to L. Kasčiūnas, among the migrants it is possible to notice people who may be infiltrated to help not destroy the commercial schemes of migrant transport, they discourage those who have returned to their country of origin.

“It is easy to recognize them, because they are usually the same [asmenys]They also organize riots in the camps. In my opinion, the best instrument is to isolate them individually. And this is being done, ”said L. Kasčiūnas.

The process takes months

Alexander Kislov, director of the Foreigners Registration Center, presented the number of foreigners currently living in Pabradė. There are currently 540 of them, with the largest number of Iraqi citizens being 2,688. A total of 41 citizens of Cameroon, 39 citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 24 newcomers from New Guinea have stayed in more than 30 countries.

According to A. Kislovas, some migrants do not have identity documents, some change their identity and present themselves differently. About 10 percent of those migrants, he said. So working with them is more complicated and takes more time.

Kislov says that to return migrants only to their country of origin, the process of obtaining the necessary documents to cross the border and return home takes 3-4 months. All this must be agreed with the country of origin for it to accept.

“If we are talking about Iraqis, we are sending an inquiry to our embassy in Warsaw with a request to send the corresponding completed questionnaire, copies of the documents to the Iraqi embassy in Warsaw. Clearly, that process takes time. We have already sent several questionnaires from this guy, but four weeks later we got a response requesting additional color copies. It’s hard to say why they are needed, but we have to, “explained A. Kislovas.

According to him, much is determined by the intensity of relations between countries. He also explained the importance of a readmission agreement that Iraq does not have with the EU countries.

“Probably the biggest advantage of the readmission agreement is that we border guards do not have to collect documents and prove that he (a migrant – Delphi) is a citizen of that country. That is what the state itself is doing, ”said the director of the Center for the Registration of Foreigners.

Complicated procedure

According to A. Kislovas, the expulsion of illegal immigrants to the country of origin is not a simple procedure, when the expelled person is simply boarded a plane, much depends on the flying airlines.

Each airline has certain relevant rules that provide for certain cases related to such flights of people. Airlines require certain risk factors to be assessed because some foreigners don’t want to fly home. You may have a passport, but you will not drive home. There are certain ways and we have a practice where a person is forcibly returned. This is quite a complicated job, because even after planning such an expulsion, a foreigner can resist, scream, cry and imitate attacks in various ways, ”said the head of the Alien Registration Center.

“The pilot, the captain, decides the physical boarding of the plane. And his right is to refuse to take you. In our practice, there was an expulsion of a Cuban citizen, when for the third time we only expelled. For the first time he screamed. For the second time, that foreigner began to mark their seats with his feces, trying to mark other passengers, our officers, spitting, biting, etc. The third time it was successful, ”said A. Kislovas.

In the case of commercial flights, as explained by Mr. Kislov, no more than two escorts can be sent in a single flight, but it is possible to organize joint flights with FRONTEX, which can send up to 50 foreigners, but this is a complicated procedure . .

“Returning a charter plane is a complicated procedure, a complicated purchase. The next point is to obtain all the relevant permits, such as landing in the country of origin. As for Iraq, it does not accept deportees, only those who return voluntarily. They declare that their citizens can decide whether to return to the country ”, explained A. Kislovas.

According to him, several options are being considered to return illegal immigrants to their countries of origin, not only through commercial flights.

“We are talking to our Polish colleagues about the possibility of driving to Chopin Airport, because the number of flights from Lithuania is quite limited. Regarding other methods of deportation, I would like to mention that we, together with FRONTEX, have had a number of operations in recent years, there were even such nuances that colleagues from Vilnius airport would fly to pick us up. charteriu flying to the country of origin. Probably, and now we will have to deal with those moments with the expulsion of troubled countries.

About 5 percent. can stay in lithuania

Mr. Kislov explained that the possibility of returning illegal immigrants to their countries of origin depends on several factors.

“This is how embassies will react and how quickly they will issue the documents. How many will be reluctant to drive, troublesome [migrantų]. How quickly we can train professionals who can do that job. Probably a certain number of foreigners will definitely stay in Lithuania. I couldn’t say that 100 percent of all will be sent, “he predicted.

“Maybe we should talk about 5%, maybe a little more. They can probably stay in Lithuania,” commented A. Kislovas.

According to A. Kislovas, some migrants are currently thinking of returning, but there are also those who categorically refuse to return home.

“Clearly, a certain part that says they will not go home will also make the appropriate decisions when they see their compatriots leave. It’s no secret that when they get home, they will probably try to travel again. Maybe not through Lithuania anymore, “thinks A. Kislovas.

He says that today there is a lack of human resources to organize the expulsion and additional positions are planned.

“The number of foreigners today is probably a very big challenge to organize their expulsions and returns, because, as I said, it is still a complicated process. <...> A few years ago, colleagues from Sweden faced an influx of Iraqis. It is mainly through voluntary repatriation that a large number of Iraqis have been able to be repatriated to their country of origin, but voluntary repatriation is really a long job, you have to talk and explain to a person for a long time, “Delfi TV said. Facts and Opinions, head of the center.