The State Committee of Ukraine for Nationalities and Migration supports not deportation but the legalization of certain categories of illegal migrants," said committee chairman Gennady Moskal. According to him, migration amnesty is "a one-time legalization of migrants valid for 30 days, that is, granting a certain category of foreigners and stateless persons the status of legally staying on the territory of Ukraine." This will necessarily be preceded by a law enforcement conclusion that a given illegal migrant does not pose a threat to national security and is not connected with crime.
The committee head noted that migration amnesty is widely used in Europe, the USA, as well as in post-Soviet countries, for example in Russia. "After all, the state grants amnesty to real criminals, and even more so this humane measure applies to unfortunate people who are often simply forced to save their lives. Yes, these people broke the law by coming to Ukraine illegally, but we should show wisdom and humanity, rather than rely on repression, which, by the way, is impossible to actually carry out. In 13 years, migration amnesty has never been declared in Ukraine; I believe that its implementation is long overdue," said Gennady Moskal.
Speaking about the benefits of carrying out migration amnesty in Ukraine, he stressed that it is, not least, savings on deportation. "Often we cannot return a foreign citizen to their homeland because it is too far, say, somewhere in Africa, and a ticket there is significantly more expensive than a year's upkeep of such a migrant. Moreover, the citizenship of many illegal migrants, due to lack of documents, is virtually impossible to establish, so they are simply doomed to remain on Ukrainian territory," he said.
Based on this, the State Committee for Nationalities and Migration supports not deportation but the legalization of certain categories of migrants, noted the committee head. "It is also important that such legalization will give many migrants, having received documents in hand, the opportunity to legally leave Ukraine, which will save considerable state funds. After all, many illegal migrants themselves seek to leave, but the lack of documents does not give them this opportunity. And only persons connected with crime and unwilling to live according to Ukrainian laws should be expelled from the country. Currently, labor migration in our state is directed not into the country, but out of the country, which negatively affects economic development. Therefore, we must strive to retain all those who want and can work, bring real benefit to the country," explained G. Moskal.
Moreover, he added, the Ukrainian nation is aging, and the number of people leaving the country is half as many again as the number entering. "It is quite possible that very soon we will face the problem of how to retain the workforce necessary for the normal development of the economy. We should not forget that many foreign citizens assimilate, start families, and have children. According to common European humanitarian standards, we have no right to separate such families. After all, sooner or later we will inevitably face the problem of their reunification, and this will cost the state significantly more," said the head of the State Migration Committee.