Bart De Wever on drug crime in Antwerp: “The European migration policy is the root of all evil”

Residents of Antwerp’s Diepestraat are complaining about the increasing drug crime. The nuisance comes largely from illegal North Africans, according to Antwerp’s mayor and N-VA chairman Bart De Wever. “Our police forces are doing a wonderful job, but we are fighting a losing battle. This is because of the European migration policy, which leads to open borders where anyone who comes here illegally is de facto rewarded.”

Fighting a losing battle

“Our police officers have already arrested 346 people in that particular street alone this year. Those are great figures, but the problem lies with the public prosecutor’s office on the one hand, which usually doesn’t even refer these people on, and above all with the Immigration Department on the other. The latter can only send these apprehended illegal immigrants - usually Tunisians who arrived via Lampedusa - back to Italy. So a day later, they are back in Antwerp. We are fighting a losing battle, and that is very discouraging for our police officers.”

A continent without a border

“The root of all evil seems to me to be the European migration policy,” Bart De Wever says. “We are a continent without a border where anyone who comes here illegally is de facto rewarded. We have been saying for years that this must stop. It’s time for people to learn anew what borders are.”