The Minister of Migration and Asylum announced the submission of a bill that will criminalize the stay of illegal immigrants in the country.
“Those who remain in the country after their asylum application has been rejected will go to prison. From now on, the path for illegal immigrants will be either prison or expulsion. Are you bothered by the term ‘illegal immigration’? Refugees will be granted asylum. Today, under the conditions we set, 52% of applicants receive asylum. The remaining 48% must leave,” he said.

“We must say things exactly as they are,” he initially stated, describing the current situation in the region of Crete.
“What is happening from North Africa and Libya is an operation of migrant invasion into Europe. In 2024, we had 4,000 arrivals from those areas. In the first 7 months of 2025, we already have 8,000. In the last few days alone, boats with 1,000 people have arrived. The Greek state is obliged to protect our nation and its territory. Under no circumstances will we accept the mass invasion that is being attempted. This is happening either due to Libya’s inability to control the flows or for other reasons that we must investigate.”

Mr. Plevris informed Parliament that there are currently 3 million migrants in Libyan territory seeking a way to reach Europe.

Responding to left-wing parties that called for the amendment to be withdrawn on humanitarian grounds, he said:
“Keep your fake humanitarianism for the so-called NGOs with their millions of euros. They milk EU funds while simultaneously accusing Coast Guard personnel. There is no altruism or humanitarianism in NGOs profiting from migration.”

Mr. Plevris defended the legal soundness of the regulation, explaining that it follows the framework established in 2020 when there was a hybrid threat at the Evros border. He reminded Parliament that the previous measure was approved by the European Commission and the relevant courts.

“We have informed the European Commission about the amendment. We followed the relevant guidelines, introducing both geographic and temporal restrictions,” he said.

He also responded to PASOK President Nikos Androulakis, who argued that the regulation is unnecessary since most migrants entering from Libya do not meet asylum criteria anyway.

“If we followed what you suggest, Mr. Androulakis, we would only be able to respond to these increased flows after 8 months. The amendment suspends asylum submission immediately, meaning that the person who enters is arrested and returned at the first opportunity. It acts as a deterrent. They will be placed directly under detention and return procedures,” he noted.