Some 500 immigrants who arrived in Malta in search for a better life have been resettled in the United States of America between March 2015 and March 2016. This information emerged in a reply to a Parliamentary Question. Minister for Home Affairs Carmelo Abela explained that 355 out of the 503 were Somali, 138 came from Eritrea, 17 from Sudan, two from Ethiopia and one from Iraq.
The resettlement exercise was possible following an agreement between the Maltese authorities, the American government and UNHCR.
The Minister said that a small number of people resettled in other countries following sponsorship programmes.