Riga, Nov 14 (LETA) - During the crack-down on illegal migration in Riga, 16 illegal migrants have been caught, Riga Vice Mayor Edvards Ratnieks (National Alliance) told at a press conference today.

Thus, a total of 38 persons who had no legal grounds to stay in Latvia were caught, which is 65 percent more than in 2024.

Ratnieks said that the aim is to achieve a situation where there are no illegal migrants in Riga.

He stressed that legal migration was an even bigger problem. Therefore, it is planned to continue the raids that have been launched and to continue work on curbing legal migration.

In order to do this, he said, first, the proportion of third-country students should be significantly reduced; second, strict rules should be introduced on knowledge of the national language in the service sector; third, the "gates" to family reunification should not be allowed to open.

As reported, at the end of September, the National Alliance politicians launched measures to detect illegal migrants in Riga.

Ratnieks previously promised that this would not be a one-day action, but regular and systematic work. He called on the citizens of Riga who have information or suspicions about gathering places of illegal migrants to report them to the Riga Municipal Police.

Guntis Pujats, head of the State Border Guard, said earlier that Ratnieks was exaggerating the problem of illegal migrants in the capital.

Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives) has previously stated that illegal immigration is not a priority for the Riga Municipal Police and no additional resources will be allocated to it. The municipal police, the State Security Service and the Ministry of the Interior already routinely carry out checks and take care of security, said Kleinbergs, who has also made no secret of his skepticism about the measures initiated by the National Alliance.

Juris Lukas, chief of the Riga Municipal Police, has also stressed that the municipal police will not catch people on the streets and will not ask tourists for documents. Instead, they will check places where illegal migrants might gather and check persons who might be staying in Latvia illegally, he explained.