Post date: Mar 29, 2012 12:19:20 PM
ATHENS, GREECE (MARCH 29, 2012) (REUTERS) - Greek police with security dogs conducted a sweep in central Athens on Thursday (March 29) rounding up illegal immigrants as part of recent government measures to tackle the illegal immigration problem.
Greek police crack down on illegal immigrants, conducting sweeps across the capital after the government announced it will build centres to house them around the country.
The government announced this month it will build holding centres to move the scores of illegal immigrants that have flooded the capital, where they have formed ghettoes and pack into apartments in the dozens.
The immigrants live in squalid and unsanitary conditions, are often driven to criminality, and residents of Athens have made continuous complaints.
In the last year the situation has reached boiling point as the immigrants have been victims of constant racist attacks by right-wing extremist groups and residents.
In the run-up to a snap general election expected in the coming months, Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said reception centres with adequate accommodation and conditions would be constructed in old unused army barracks in various parts of the country. There they would be able to apply for asylum or be deported back to their countries. But residents of the proposed areas for the centres have also already expressed their opposition.
The country is continuously searching for measures to deal with the illegal immigration problem, as Greece is the gateway to Europe. The immigrant surveillance organisation Frontex is helping the country on its sea and land borders. The problem is more exacerbated with the current economic crisis, when jobs and funds are scarce.
A program has been operating to repatriate the illegal immigrants with a cash incentive, and is paid for by the government, but it is voluntary and strains the budget of the government at a time when spending is tight.