Since the beginning of this year, the number of illegal immigrants in Russia has increased by 40%, but the regions are in no hurry to deport offenders. This was stated today, October 30, by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, at a meeting of the ministry’s board dedicated to organizing work in the field of migration.
He stressed that the situation is causing a heated debate in society. As of October 1, there were more than 6.5 million foreigners in the Russian Federation, of which more than 740,000 had no legal basis to remain in the Russian Federation. This year there have been dozens of conflicts with immigrants related to illegal and antisocial behavior.
“Natives abroad are involved in serious and especially serious crimes that have caused widespread public outcry, including terrorist activities.” – Kolokoltsev emphasized.
The number of cases of organizing illegal migration has also increased. A total of 373 episodes were identified, 5.5 times more than last year. The number of decisions made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2024 to limit the entry of foreigners into Russia increased by 50% and amounted to almost 180 thousand. In ten months of this year, 20,000 people were expelled from the Russian Federation. At the same time, the police recorded more than 106 thousand violations in the field of immigration legislation. 1.2 thousand people were deprived of Russian citizenship.
At the same time, almost a quarter of the total number of guest workers did not pass the test for knowledge of the Russian language: that is, 66 thousand people could not take the exams because they did not even have basic knowledge. knowledge.
The situation in the regions deserves special attention.
“Nearly half of the regions were not prepared to increase our efforts to find and remove illegal immigrants. The situation regarding capacity building and normal conditions of stay in centers for foreigners, to put it mildly, is far from favorable. Even if we intensify our work, we will have nowhere to place these immigrants for deportation. And the deadline is sometimes delayed due to receiving information about the true data of your passport from the country of origin, sometimes weeks or even months.” – said Kolokoltsev.
At the same time, Kolokoltsev noted, in Moscow, Sverdlovsk, Arkhangelsk and Tatarstan regions local authorities have found the opportunity to ensure that the necessary number of immigrants remain in special institutions before their expulsion from the country. Similar opportunities do not exist in other regions. For example, the unsatisfactory situation in the Altai, Primorsky, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Karelia, Kalmykia and other regions.
As reported EADaily The day before, the State Duma approved four bills aimed at combating illegal migration. Currently, the organization of illegal migration is classified as a particularly serious crime. From February 2025, police officers will be able to independently make decisions on the administrative removal of foreigners.
