Greece launches crackdown on illegal immigrants

A crackdown by police in Athens has led to the detention of around 6,000 people suspected of being illegal immigrants. Although most have since been released the authorities have said that some 1,600 people are to be deported.

Nikos Dendias, the Greek public order minister, said it was essential for the country to build a better way of dealing with the problem of immigration. He called it a bomb which threatened to destroy the state and society adding that as the country struggles to find ways of dealing with its economic woes it cannot afford to pay for an invasion of immigrants.

Greece is worried if the problems with Syria get any worse then it could be facing a massive influx of refugees. As a safeguard the number of guards has been increased along the Turkish border.

The Greek government is coming under increasing pressure from some politicians to become stricter about illegal immigration especially as the country is trying to contend with a crippling recession at the current time.

Greece has often been criticised for the way it deals with the immigrants crossing its borders. According to Amnesty International many asylum seekers are treated as though they are criminals and are locked in detention centres. It is estimated that around 80 per cent of all migrants crossing into the European Union do so via Greece.