Greece plans closed detention centers, suspends asylum claims amid migrant surge

The potential policy shift comes a day after a major diplomatic incident in which Libyan military commander General Khalifa Haftar expelled a high-level European Union delegation, which included Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, from the eastern city of Benghazi.

Thanos Plevris is set to brief Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today about the deteriorating situation, as up to 1,000 migrants continue to land daily on Crete’s southern shores.

Among the measures being considered is the creation of closed facilities on Crete where newly arrived migrants would be held to prevent them from traveling to the Greek mainland or other EU countries. The government is also advancing legislation that would make illegal residency a criminal offense, punishable by prison time and subsequent deportation.

In a further step, authorities plan to temporarily stop processing asylum claims for most nationalities arriving from Libya, including Egyptians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, who are considered to be from "safe" countries.

The government’s spokesperson, Pavlos Marinakis, said the goal is to create policies that "reverse the logic of attraction".

"Any measure must counter the idea that ‘our doors are open and we are waiting for you", Marinakis said.