51% of irregular migrants who arrived in Malta in 2022 were Asians from countries where there was ‘no war’ - minister

51% of irregular migrants who arrived in Malta in 2022 were Asian people who previously resided in countries where “no war was taking place,” Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said.

Camilleri said that a lot of migrants would take a flight to Libya and later use human traffickers to get to Europe.

He said this in reference to the statement he made last week, where he had said that NGO rescue boats serve as a “pull factor” for migrants. In response to his “pull factor” statement last week, The Malta Independent on Sunday had contacted three Search and Rescue NGOs which accused the minister of “spreading myths.”

Asked about this on Thursday, Camilleri stuck by what he said. He said that irregular migrant trips facilitated by human traffickers have increased in the last few years, just as the number of NGO rescue boats in the Mediterranean sea has increased.

He added that recently there was an instance where the number of crossings in the direction of Lampedusa also increased, as there was the presence of NGO rescue boats in that area.

Previously, a spokesperson for SAR NGO Alarm Phone had said: “there is simply no evidence in support of this claim”. They said that in reality, much larger numbers reach Europe autonomously or are rescued by the Italian authorities.

The spokesperson for SAR NGO Sea-Watch, Oliver Kulikowski, quoted the article ‘Migration and the myth of the pull factor in the Mediterranean’ by Matteo Villa, which states: “Departures seemed to be affected by meteorological conditions – with rising temperatures slowly increasing departures and strong winds sharply decreasing them – and political conditions in Libya, not the arrival of rescue boats.”

Camilleri was also vocal about his approval of the Italian decree that was passed by the Italian authorities on 2 January. The decree requires civilian rescue ships to immediately head to Italy after each rescue and not rescue any other people in distress, which counters the job of SAR NGOs that stay out at sea for numerous days rescuing people.

Asked whether something like this could be implemented in Malta in the future, he said that Malta will continue practising its politics on immigration.