“Don’t Come Here – You’ll Be Jailed or Sent Back”: Greece Sets a Tough Standard on Migration

In a hard-hitting front-page feature, the Daily Mail presents Greece as a model nation in managing illegal migration flows, focusing on the island of Crete, which is currently facing a sharp spike in arrivals from Libya’s northern shores.

The British tabloid features exclusive remarks by Thanos Plevris, Greece’s newly appointed Minister of Migration and Asylum, who declares the “end of the fairy tale” and sends a stern warning to would-be migrants:“Don’t come here. You’ll either be jailed or sent back to your country.”

The minister emphasized that Greece will no longer act as a ‘hotel’ for illegal migrants, stressing that the majority of arrivals are young men from safe countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who do not qualify for asylum under EU criteria.

During Plevris’s first days in office, over 4,000 migrants reportedly landed in southern Crete, highlighting the scale and urgency of the crisis. The Daily Mail draws parallels to the UK’s own Channel migration problem, suggesting that Britain could learn from Greece’s strict but effective policy, especially the suspension of asylum processing for illegal entrants.

The article also delves into the criminal networks of smugglers, who operate large vessels carrying 200–300 people per trip, and references intelligence estimating up to 3 million migrants currently stranded in Libya, awaiting passage to Europe.

Plevris severely criticizes the current EU asylum system, describing it as ineffective and open to abuse. He condemns the tactic of migrants destroying their documents to obscure their identity, calling it a deliberate manipulation of asylum procedures.

Local voices in Crete echo the government’s position. A taxi driver told the Mail’s correspondent:

“Tell him [the Minister] enough is enough with the migrants. No more should be allowed in. We all feel the same. Good luck to him with the new law.”

The article concludes with a pointed message to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging him to adopt a tougher stance. It portrays Greece as a frontline state showing decisive leadership in a crisis that, the Daily Mail warns, threatens to engulf the whole of Europe.

Source: pagenews.gr