Algeria sets up commission on illegal immigration

Algerian justice minister Tayeb Belaiz said President Bouteflika gave inctructions to create a commission in charge of studying illegal immigration and tackle its causes.

• Speaking to MPs, the ministers said the commission will work on reducing the flow of illegal immigrants to the northern side of the Mediterranean.
• He added that young people are tempted by this adventure for social considerations, saying a new penal law on illegal immigration came to fill a legal vacuum.
• “The new law is principally intended to impose sanctions on smuggling networks. Smuggled people are considered as victims, and we can not keep this legal vacuum in the penal law,” he said.
• The phenomenon of illegal immigration from Algeria to Europe appears to be on the rise while Italy and Spain remain ones of the main entry points used by would-be immigrants attempting to reach Europe.