MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) – Detention centers for illegal migrants will be created in Vitebsk, Gomel, and Lida, Belarus' Interior Minister Igor Shunevich said in an interview with BelTA.
The establishment of these centers is monitored by the working group which is composed of representatives of the Interior Ministry and the Belarusian Office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “By the end of the year, they are expected to solve a number of practical issues. Therefore the initiative will be launched not earlier than 2018,” the minister said. “The centers will be created in Vitebsk, Gomel, and Lida using the infrastructure of local law enforcement bodies.”
Certain premises have been already chosen by the supervisory and executive department of the Interior Ministry. “To avoid speculations, I will reiterate that these centers will be meant for the foreigners waiting for deportation only. They will not be used to accommodate refugees,” he said.
The minister added that the migration situation in the country is stable. In 2016, Belarusian law enforcement bodies detected 15 organized groups of illegal migrants uniting 69 people. Besides, they solved 69 crimes concerning the organization of illegal migration and 319 crimes connected with the violation of the terms of Belarus' entry ban for foreigners. “Some 2,332 foreign citizens were deported from our country for the violation of the legislation. More than 8,000 people were added to Belarus' travel ban list,” the minister said.