4.4M regular migrants in Türkiye, interior minister highlights migration woes

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Monday that the number of regular migrants in Türkiye has reached 4,437,000.

Speaking at the Human Rights Education Program organized by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Human Rights Directorate, Yerlikaya emphasized the ongoing challenges of managing migration and protecting human rights.

Ongoing challenge of migration

Yerlikaya highlighted that migration will continue as long as the world turns. He stressed the significant tests faced by countries like Türkiye, where migrants travel from their origins to their destinations, emphasizing the importance of rights and human dignity throughout this journey.

To prevent tragic incidents like babies washing up on shores, we are working tirelessly. There are 300 million migrants worldwide, a massive number. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 123 million of these migrants have been forcibly displaced, and 47 million are under protection. In Türkiye, there are currently 4,437,000 regular migrants, including 3,103,000 under temporary protection, 1,109,000 with residence permits, and 224,000 under international protection

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya

Address verification, updates

Yerlikaya pointed out that every Saturday, the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management publishes open-source data on regular and irregular migrants.

He dismissed claims that the actual numbers are much higher as baseless.

We have investigated whether registered addresses of foreigners are being lived in. We found that 729,000 of the 3,103,000 Syrians under temporary protection were not residing at their registered addresses

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya

The minister added that warnings in Turkish, English, and Arabic have been sent to these individuals, giving them 90 days, followed by an additional two months, to update their addresses.

Failing to do so would result in losing access to services such as education and healthcare.

Combating irregular migration

Yerlikaya emphasized the Turkish government’s efforts to combat irregular migration and human smuggling.

He mentioned that three operations have been conducted in northern Syria to create safe zones, preventing over 4 million potential migrants from entering Türkiye.

Highlighting the importance of addressing the root causes of migration, Yerlikaya presented a video showcasing Türkiye’s border security measures, including sensor lighting, lift towers, armored surveillance vehicles, optical towers and thermal cameras.

Since 2023, 202,705 irregular migrants have been prevented from entering through our borders.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya

Focus on human smugglers

“Our main focus is on human smuggling organizers,” Yerlikaya explained. “In April 2023, our government decided to increase the penalties for human smuggling to 5-8 years in prison.”

He condemned human smugglers as enemies of humanity and noted that combating human smuggling is a performance criterion for governors, gendarmerie and police.

To facilitate the identification of irregular migrants, Yerlikaya said that mobile migration units are deployed in all 81 provinces, resulting in nearly 1.2 million inquiries and the identification of 126,766 irregular migrants.

Yerlikaya also reported that 22,987 irregular migrants were deported via 121 special flights.

Türkiye currently operates 32 removal centers in 25 cities, providing services such as three meals a day, social spaces and healthcare support.