Italy has recorded an 80 per cent drop off immigrants reaching its costs compared to 2017.
The number of clandestine immigrants arriving in Europe in 2018 fell by 92 per cent, compared to the peak of immigration rates recorded in 2015.
A report by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), translated by al-Khaleej Online, documented on Saturday that 150.000 illegal immigrants crossed the European border in 2018, which is considered as the lowest recorded level in the past five years.
The report attributed the reasons for the decline in the number of immigrants to the collapse of the route of access across the Mediterranean towards Italy while observers considered that the policy of “closed ports,” currently implemented by the ruling right-wing coalition in Italy, is one of the factors for the reduction of illegal immigrants.
According to the report, Italy recorded the arrival of 23,000 clandestine immigrants in 2018, with an 80 percent decrease compared with 2017.
The report also noted that Libya, the main starting point on the middle track of illegal immigration to Europe, recorded a decline by 87 percent compared with 2017, and the secret immigration from Algeria recorded a decrease of 50 per cent while Tunisia maintained the same rate as last year.
SOURCE: Middle East Monitor
