As Interfax-Ukraine reports, this was discussed during a round table in Kyiv, in which both representatives of the MIA and representatives of the State Migration Committee took part. The MIA advocates the creation of a state committee for citizenship, migration, and registration work within its structure. However, as the deputy head of the State Migration Committee, Yuri Sukhov, stated during the round table, he considers the approach to creating a migration service, the main task of which would be to combat and prevent illegal migration, to be unfounded. "The main factor of migration movements is the economic, social, and humanitarian aspect, not only crime," he noted.
According to the State Migration Committee, the MIA identified 0.1% of the total flow of illegal migration in Ukraine last year. At the same time, according to the MIA, almost 80% of the practical functions in the field of migration are assigned to them. As reported by First Deputy State Secretary Mikhail Kornienko, last year alone, the MIA's operational and other services detained 200 organized groups of illegal migrants totaling 2,500 people.
Mikhail Kornienko believes that the creation of a state migration service outside the system of law enforcement agencies is "a mistaken step that does not take many aspects into account." He noted the existing international trend of migration structures leaning toward strengthening the "law enforcement component," which was a consequence of the terrorist attacks in September 2001 in the United States. In addition, according to the First Deputy State Secretary of the MIA, the creation of a state migration service within the State Migration Committee would entail "an increase in budget expenditures."
At the same time, as Yuri Sukhov stated, according to the conclusions of the Ministry of Finance, the creation of a state migration service "does not require significant additional funds." He also noted that when creating the state migration service, the State Migration Committee plans to create an analytical unit that will analyze the migration situation, as well as a migration information database service, which has already begun to be created.