French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has revealed that there are over 1,000 illegal immigrants registered on the Terrorist Radicalisation Prevention Report Index (FSRPT), an anti-terrorism watchlist.
According to Minister Darmanin at least 1,083 illegal migrants have been registered on the FSRPT, an anti-terrorism watchlist created in 2015 which lists individuals who are thought to be religiously radicalised.
“To date, 1,083 illegal aliens are registered, but they are not necessarily in France since, of these, 587 have already been expelled from the country with a ban on return, including 200 last year. For the rest, they are either in prison, in a psychiatric hospital or awaiting deportation,” Darmanin told the newspaper Le Figaro.
Darmanin went on to add that 20 per cent of those on the FSRPT are foreigners, including 4,000 non-French with legal residency, saying: “25 per cent…. are Algerians and 20 per cent Moroccans, 15 per cent Tunisians and 12 per cent Russians.”
(Migrants described as “Russians” will include those from majority-Muslim semi-autonomous republics within the Russian Federation, such as Chechnya and Dagestan.)
In the last six months, 200 of those with residency permits who are on the list have had their residency revoked.
The number of illegal migrants on the FSPRT has increased since October of last year, when Minister Darmanin claimed that 851 illegals were on the list.
“In addition, 600 of the 1,200 foreigners released from prison since January have been expelled from the country under drug trafficking or ordinary crimes,” Darmanin said, adding: “At the request of the President of the Republic, we consider that a foreigner who has committed a serious act no longer has a place in France.”
In an effort to combat illegal immigration, Darmanin said the government would also be cracking down on those who employ illegal migrants: “We must also ask for capitalism to be patriotic and we must fight against these exploiters.”
While the number of new asylum seekers entering into France has decreased during the Wuhan virus pandemic, there remains activity along the country’s border with Italy.
Last month, for example, a pair of pro-migration activists were arrested in the commune of Montgenèvre for allegedly helping Afghan migrants cross into France.
Just a week prior, a Congolese refugee had been given a 10-month suspended sentence for helping migrants cross the Franco-Italian border illegally.
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