Greek parliament passes immigration overhaul

Greece's parliament on Wednesday approved an overhaul of immigration rules to better screen asylum seekers as the country deals with an influx of illegal immigrants.
The move came amid widespread criticism of Greece's immigration policies including its plan to erect a wire fence along a 12.5-kilometer stretch of its border with Turkey. The new law removes control over asylum seekers from the police and hands it over to a new asylum service that will deal with a backlog of some 47,000 applicants, many of them awaiting approval for years. The law will also put in place a procedure for appealing rejected asylum requests.
Citizen's Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis said the law would allow Greece to set up a screening process under which illegal migrants "will be voluntarily repatriated or expelled." Experts estimate there are about 350,000 illegal immigrants in the country, which is the leading gateway for illegal immigration into Europe. "This is a question that deals with the cohesiveness of Greek society," Papoutsis said shortly before the vote. "Most of the migrants are driven to illegality, to crime, to prostitution... because Greece does not have the means to take charge of them," he said, while also defending the border-fence plane

Young immigrants peak out from inside a Greek detention center.

Greek authorities say a surge in arrivals by thousands of would-be immigrants and asylum seekers has stretched the country's capacity to breaking point as it continues to battle a debt crisis and a deep recession. Rights groups have repeatedly criticized Greece for failing to provide adequate shelter and support to people fleeing conflict in Africa, the