Malta cannot cope with the continued influx of irregular immigrants and that the problem is only going to get worse, said Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat yesterday.

Dr Muscat said that control had even been lost at the Hal-Far centre which had now become an open centre due to the swelling number of immigrants. “One can only say that Malta is going to sink under the pressure of numbers,” he said.

He said that some people did not think that the problems faced by other countries in reference to irregular immigration would come home to roost in Malta. “But I will quote what the Dutch European Affairs Minister said while visiting Malta some days ago. He said that the first mistake by the Dutch government was to think that immigrants would leave after some time. He said that far from it, the immigrants brought their families over to live with them.”

He said that anyone following the international media could see what was happening in the UK and France where the descendants of immigrants were causing trouble.

“History repeats itself. First they proliferate, then they demand their own schools to protect their identity (meaning they will never become Maltese), then they want their own place of worship, which they already have here in Malta,” he said.

After this, he said, they will want their own people in the police force and eventually in Parliament. “Can such a small place sustain two completely different cultures?” he asked.

He also asked why the police should have to waste resources on repatriating people when they cannot even keep up with the spate of armed robberies and drug abuse. Dr Muscat said that the reality is that not even the European Union wants these people as they have their own problems.

AN said that if it had the authority, it would set a benchmark of people that the island could sustainably house and would dedicate resources towards their integration in our society.

It would also work on the burden sharing proposal and if it did not succeed, would take illegal immigrants or those without a visa to Brussels to ask exactly what should be done with them. AN would also close open centres and all those who arrive without a permit or overstay their visa would have to live in detention.

He also said that Maltese citizenship would not be given to illegal immigrants simply because they enter into relationships with locals.

In addition, anyone with a criminal record either in Malta or abroad would not be given citizenship. AN would also draft laws to ensure much harsher punishment for human traffickers as well as for those who employ people illegally.