Greece: A Frontline for the European Immigration Crisis

Greece has been generally been a country where people emigrate from not immigrate to. In the past years, many Albanians among other foreigners have flooded Greece. At first the Greek government praised their presence after the immense help they gave in building the infrastructures for the Athens Olympics. Now the Greek government has passed a law that will grant amnesty for illegal immigrants. According to William Horsley, the amnesty is greatly feared by immigrants. The new laws are hopeful to end uncontrolled immigration. Although this new law should grant amnesty to the nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants in Greece, many illegals feel that this new law does not include them and they must hide from the government. The steps that an illegal immigrant must go through to gain amnesty is quite extensive. They must back pay social security stamps for the time they have been in Greece, prove they have lived there for over a year, get their national identity papers stamped by the Albanian embassy, among many other obstacles. Many Albanian immigrants in particular feel that this will lead ultimately to deportation instead of the amnesty they desire.
Many Albanians say that have fled there because there is no longer work at home. In Athens there is even a Little Albania, with Albanians being able to buy newspapers in their language and many Albanians come to Athens each day to start construction for 30 Euros a day. Many of these construction employers enjoy the cheap labor and yet they refuse to pay the social security on these workers to keep them in Greece.
With the amnesty deadline quickly approaching (this December), the black market has begun to thrive. With the forging of documents anywhere form visas to health forms, anyone who can afford to stay will with the help of the black market. Ultimately, Greece's new law for amnesty for its illegal immigrants is more or less turning into a race to be able to stay and the people who can afford it coming out on top.