Immigration police put on extra alert for illegal Tunisians

Immigration police at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport are to carry out extra checks to make sure thousands of Tunisians given visas by Italy do not enter the Netherlands, the Telegraaf reports on Saturday .


North African migrants without enough money to keep themselves, without the right paper work or who are considered a threat to public order will be sent back to Italy immediately, the paper says.
Italy has given temporary visas to some 25,000 Tunisians, which allow them to travel freely throughout Europe.
Random checks
According to news agency ANP, immigration police are not allowed to make random checks on residency permits but can ask to see documents at work and if someone has committed an offence.
Immigration minister Gerd Leers has also proposed reintroducing some form of border control, ANP says.
The Netherlands is a member of the Schengen group of countries, which have ended internal border checks.
Fingerprints
The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg are also demanding the European Commission makes sure the fingerprints of Tunisians who have been given temporary permits to stay are kept in the European data bank.
‘We are sending out a strong signal. Illegal Tunisian migrants found in the Netherlands will be declared undesirable,’ he is quoted as saying.
The minister believes most of the Tunisians are economic refugees and there is a large risk they will disappear into the illegal sector, he says.

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