Marrakech- A Europe-wide operation, backed by Italy, which has the European Union presidency, was proposed in an EU memo dated 10 July 2014.
The document calls for a joint police operation “Mos Maiorum” or “Our Ancestors”. The operation is now being put into effect.
The Italian Ministry of Interior is leading the operation with the Italian border police and the EU Border Agency FRONTEX. It is a continuation of previous EU actions against illegal immigration, according to the EU memo. It calls for apprehending illegal immigrants on European territory and the gathering information so that action can be taken against criminal human trafficking organizations.
The police operation will coordinate the enforcement of border checks and surveillance and an update of the general status on illegal immigration.
Human rights organizations have pointed out that many migrants are asylum seekers fleeing death and persecution in their country of origin, as well as economic migrants who cannot find work in their own country.
The island of Lampedusa in Italy is one of the areas swamped with illegal immigrants arriving by boat. Spain and Morocco have also been under pressure for some time by immigrants crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.
The data collection will involve migrants’ details, including nationality and date and point of entry into the EU. The goal is to create an up-to-date picture of people trafficking and the continuing abuse of the victims.
Morocco has recently introduced a process to regulate the presence of African migrants in Morocco, so that some of them can become legal in the country, allowing them to work.
