A record number of migrant repatriations over the past months has contributed to people smugglers changing their tactics, with fewer migrants heading for Malta, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Wednesday.

Speaking in parliament, the minister said Malta would continue to observe its international obligations and could not let any migrants drown. But it could also not have an open-door policy for migration.

It was not just laws and obligations to safeguard migrants which needed to be observed, but also laws and obligations concerning the national border and security, he said.

Those people who were genuinely deserving of international protection were being given a good, professional service but the country was also increasingly addressing the situation of those who were not entitled to international protection and did not have a right to live here.

 The fact that a record number of migrants had been sent back to their country of origin had served as a signal to the people who demanded fairness in the handling of the migration challenge, and a signal too to the people traffickers.

Indeed, Malta had seen a shift in the number and the nationality of arrivals, with migrants going to other countries and criminal traffickers realising their ‘business model’ was not succeeding.  

The setting up of the Returns Unit, which works closely with the Immigration Police and the Foreign Ministry had given good results and a direct correlation could be seen between its work and a decrease in migrant arrivals.

It was in this context that the Immigration Act was being amended to facilitate deportations and remove problematic areas of the law – such as those irregular migrants who arrived by air had to be returned on the same plane they arrived on, something which was often impractical.

The law also tackled problems of unaccompanied minors and provided that the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers could be appointed as the interim guardian of such people.

Camilleri said the government would continue to tackle the migration challenge fairly but firmly. To delay decisions often caused hardship for genuine asylum seekers, while those who abused the system continued to thrive.

Action would therefore continue to be taken locally but also abroad, not least to deter and discourage migrant departures from Libya.

 The challenge would persist and it was the government’s duty to create better structures to handle it, he said.