The State Duma considered new initiatives to combat illegal migration
The State Duma on Tuesday considered two initiatives to combat illegal migration, which the speaker of the chamber Vyacheslav Volodin previously called one of the priority topics for the autumn session. Measures to counter fictitious marriages between Russians and foreigners were approved in the second reading, and in the first, deputies adopted amendments allowing the confiscation of property acquired by crime from organizers of illegal migration.
Bill on countering fictitious marriages of Russians with migrants trying to gain legal status in this way, was adopted in the first reading on April 10. The authors - a group of senators and deputies led by the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on State Construction Andrei Klishas - proposed issuing a temporary residence permit (TRP) only after two years have passed from the date of marriage of the applicant with a citizen of the Russian Federation. And parents, guardians or adoptive parents of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation will be able to obtain a residence permit (RP) only if the child was born in a valid marriage with a Russian.
For the second reading, Vyacheslav Volodin and the head of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) introduced an amendment to increase the period of marriage required to obtain a temporary residence permit to three years.
“This period confirms the seriousness of intentions to start a family in Russia and will close the way for illegal immigrants,” Mr. Kalashnikov explained to the deputies. According to another amendment by the same authors, in order to obtain a residence permit in a simplified manner (without preliminary registration of a temporary residence permit) in connection with the adoption of a Russian child, foreigners will have to live with him for three years and participate in his upbringing.
When discussing the initiative in the first reading, it was harshly criticized by the first deputy chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs, United Russia member Konstantin Zatulin, and he was the only one who voted against it. There were no disputes in the second reading, but after the bill was unanimously approved by 412 votes, the question arose of how to protect Russian women from foreign polygamists.
“With dual citizenship, double marriage is possible,” worried Elena Drapeko (“A Just Russia - For the Truth”, SRZP). Vyacheslav Volodin replied that polygamy is prohibited by law in Russia, and asked Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Igor Zubov, who was present at the meeting, to explain whether there were loopholes for unscrupulous suitors. “There are no legal loopholes, but of course there are,” the deputy minister cheerfully reported. “The gardener in our gardening came up to me three days ago and said: I have decided to get married in Russia. And he has three children in Tajikistan. How will this wife in Russia know that he has someone in Tajikistan?” - Mrs. Drapeko did not let up. Then Mr. Volodin reminded that the Duma would soon consider a bill on criminal liability for forged documents. “Tell your gardener there not to joke with our laws, otherwise he will be put in our prison, and it’s cold there,” the speaker advised. “Let him go to his family.” We don’t need people like that here, for our women to be fooled. And women need to be explained, they also need to understand with whom they are formalizing the relationship... Especially our grandmothers should not be led into this fornication.”
At the same meeting, the Duma approved in the first reading amendments to the Criminal Code of a group of deputies of different factions and senators, extending confiscation to crimes in the field of organizing illegal migration, if they were committed for selfish reasons.
Presenting the bill, its co-author Vladimir Ivanov (EP) reported that, despite all the restrictions already adopted by the Duma, the number of illegal immigrants is growing: there are now 739 thousand illegal migrants in the Russian Federation compared to 630 thousand last year.
And the first deputy chairman of the State Construction Committee Irina Pankina (EP) expressed the hope that the bill, as a preventive measure, “will stop criminal activities that have acquired colossal proportions.”
The deputies did not argue with the idea, but made a number of proposals. Oleg Nilov (SRHR) was dissatisfied with the fact that investigators would have to prove the criminal origin of property subject to confiscation, and it would be better to shift the burden of proof to the suspect. Irina Pankina responded by calling for people not to forget about the Constitution and “who bears the burden of proof.” Sergei Leonov (LDPR) advocated toughening penalties for violating immigration laws “up to and including prison,” including fictitious registration of visitors and the issuance of fake certificates of knowledge of the Russian language. The head of the inter-factional commission on migration policy, Irina Yarovaya, responded to this remark (EP), recalling that the Duma will soon consider initiatives according to which organized illegal migration “will acquire the status of a particularly serious crime” with a punishment of 8 to 15 years in prison.
As a result, 406 deputies voted for the amendments, with one abstention.
The communists have come up with new grounds for depriving Russian citizenship
State Duma deputies from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Mikhail Matveev and Sergei Obukhov proposed depriving acquired Russian citizenship for committing two or more criminal offenses of any severity or three or more administrative offenses in the field of public order and security. Corresponding amendments to the Law “On Citizenship” entered to the Duma on October 1.
As the authors remind in the explanatory note, the current law allows “new Russians” to be deprived of a Russian Federation passport only for committing a number of crimes, mostly serious, such as terrorist crimes, crimes against the state, etc. At the same time, committing something not included in this list a crime by a person who already has a criminal record is not grounds for termination of citizenship. Meanwhile, recently in the Russian Federation, “cases of crimes committed by visitors from the countries of the former USSR and who have received Russian citizenship and who have several convictions for a previously committed intentional crime have become more frequent,” the deputies emphasize. “A situation is emerging where persons who have acquired Russian citizenship and have several criminal records... continue to commit crimes (offenses) and are not afraid of being deprived of Russian citizenship,” the document says.
In this regard, Messrs. Matveev and Obukhov propose to include a new item in the list of grounds for termination of citizenship: “the commission of two or more crimes provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, or three or more administrative offenses provided for by Chapter 20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.” Let us note that in this chapter (it is called “Administrative offenses encroaching on public order and public safety”), along with actions of an extremist nature (demonstration of Nazi symbols, inciting hatred or enmity, discrediting the army), very “light” offenses such as petty hooliganism are described and drinking alcohol in public places. The authors of the amendments are ready to make an exception only for Russians permanently residing in four new constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
It also follows from the documents attached to the bill that its authors contacted several law enforcement agencies with a request to express their position on the proposed initiative. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office declined to comment, promising, if necessary, to present their feedback in the established official manner, and the Investigative Committee reported that they had “no comments or suggestions within the competence of the department.”
