CMRUThe Malta Police Force announced the deportation of three foreign nationals in what could be another calculated public relations exercise designed to deflect attention from recent operational failures and allegations of discriminatory enforcement.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Police confirmed that three individuals who had completed prison sentences for vagrancy and aggressive begging have been returned to North Africa, West Africa, and Eastern Europe following “weeks of coordinated work.”
The announcement, accompanied by photographs and video footage of the operations, comes as Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà faces scrutiny over a botched raid in Swieqi that saw four innocent Turkish nationals detained at gunpoint.
The timing of the police statement has not gone unnoticed. Just yesterday, the Nationalist Party accused home affairs minister Byron Camilleri of misleading Parliament about the 14 October incident, in which approximately fifteen heavily armed officers stormed a residential apartment without proper identification, restraining residents with cable ties before realising they had targeted the wrong people.
Commissioner Gafà’s attempt to defend the operation only deepened the controversy, with the police chief insisting “there was no wrong address, but the persons there were not the suspects,” a statement that highlighted either operational failure or systemic data inaccuracy whilst failing to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
The deployment of highly publicised immigration enforcement operations has become a familiar pattern for the Malta Police Force, particularly when the institution faces criticism. Recent months have seen a series of pre-dawn raids targeting undocumented migrants in areas including Marsa, Gżira, St Julian’s and Burmarrad, with police deliberately photographing arrests to maximise media impact.
Human rights organisations and opposition politicians have consistently accused authorities of racial profiling and xenophobia, arguing that these theatrical displays criminalise vulnerable individuals whilst leaving employers, landlords and recruitment agencies who profit from exploitation entirely unscathed.
The latest police statement confirmed that nineteen individuals were arrested in Burmarrad for being in the country irregularly, with authorities vowing to “continue working to identify, arrest and deport persons who are not legal in the country.”
This enforcement is being conducted “through tireless work” by police assisted by the Detention Services Agency, Identità and Jobsplus, the statement said.
However, critics point out that whilst Malta issued 33,455 first-time residence permits to third-country nationals in 2024, demonstrating clear economic dependence on migrant labour, protection rates for asylum seekers have plummeted to historic lows.
Meanwhile, third-country nationals, who contribute over €85 million in taxes annually and fill critical roles across construction, hospitality and care sectors, earn 17% less than Maltese and EU workers.
