Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has deported 98 foreign nationals in recent days following a targeted enforcement operation.
It was performed by the department of migration of the ministry in close cooperation with structural subdivisions of the ministry, the department said. It was noted that among the deported to the states of their beginning, there were the citizens of such countries as Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Cuba, Russia, Azerbaijan, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Nigeria, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iraq and China. Citizens of some other states were also subjected to deportation.
All deported individuals face automatic re-entry bans under Georgian. The number of years each person will be forbidden to return was not included in the department statement but is automatic upon deportation.
The recent operation is part of an ongoing enforcement surge. In just the past 12 months, almost 3,600 people have been forcibly removed from Georgia by officials working for the state’s Migration Department. That’s almost 12 people each and every day.
Officially, the exercise was called a series of complicated procedures, a vague phrase that encompassed document verification, detainee identification, court or administrative hearings and the coordination of removals. Immigration officials did not say how they determined the immigration status of each person or what rules they broke to warrant the expulsions.
Recently, Georgia has seen a rise in travel, trade, students and departures from neighboring countries. This rise means that there are now more foreigners entering Georgia, requiring monitoring and control of residence permits, visa time frames and employment rights in Georgia. Such an enforcement act is a way for the government to prove that the rules around residing in Georgia are being taken seriously.
This variety of nationalities was greater than the other communities, but demonstrates the growing diversity of the foreign community in Georgia. The study was dominated by nationalities from South and South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet republics so it would appear that no one community was specifically targeted.
Immigration policy often divides opinions, with some claiming that a tough crackdown ensures order and the integrity of the justice system and others stressing the need for the guarantees and the right to justice for the people facing extradition. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had said nothing about any of this when it made the announcement, which was about the figures and the grounds for the bans.
The Migration Department says it will continue working for now. Given the scale of deportation operations this year, there is likely to be more for the foreseeable future. People living or passing through Georgia are encouraged to keep their papers in order and follow the restrictions of their residence.
