"I really do not care about all sorts of European norms," said the Minister of the Interior of Latvia, Janis Dombrava. He added: "Let Europe howl and scream."
The head of the Latvian Ministry of the Interior, Janis Dombrava, believes that "fake asylum seekers" are mocking European humanitarianism, and that Latvian border guards and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) are not acting effectively enough to address this issue.
After visiting the asylum seekers' accommodation center in Mucenieki, Dombrava stated that it is unacceptable how open Latvia actually is to illegal immigrants who, after illegally crossing the border, pose as asylum seekers.
In the minister's opinion, this indicates the need to establish a strict algorithm for identifying and deporting such individuals.
He expects specific actions from the responsible agencies – OCMA and border guards – so that these individuals are immediately deported from the country.
"The centers for asylum seekers are overcrowded with groups of citizens from Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other exotic countries, which are being housed at the expense of our taxpayers. They walk around freely with knives, turning the surrounding area into a dump. They understand perfectly how to exploit the regulations of the European Commission for their own benefit," said Dombrava.
According to the minister, these people also "sneeringly mock" the humanitarianism of Latvia and Europe. He believes that most illegal migrants are economic migrants.
In a broadcast on Latvian television, Dombrava stated that the solution would simply be to return such migrants to their countries of entry, if those countries are established. "I really do not care about all sorts of European norms," said the politician from the National Alliance. "Let Europe howl and scream."
Currently, the asylum seekers' accommodation center "Mucenieki" has 455 occupied places with a nominal capacity of 450, meaning the center is overcrowded. The accommodation center in the Aluksne region houses 66 asylum seekers. The cost of maintaining one asylum seeker is 22 euros per day.
According to the minister, in the first five months of this year, 490 asylum seekers have been registered in Latvia. The largest group among them are citizens of Somalia – 71 people, Egypt – 51, Afghanistan – 41, Pakistan – 40, and Bangladesh – 39 people.
In an interview with Latvian Radio, when asked whether a change in leadership at OCMA and the border service should be expected after such criticism, Dombrava replied that his goal is not to punish anyone at all costs. His task is to bring the security situation to an appropriate state.
"Of course, if sabotage continues, then dismissals will follow. But for what the previous minister did not do in the previous period, I do not intend to automatically punish the employees of the internal affairs services," said the minister.
