Recently, the State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber of parliament) has been increasingly receiving proposals for reforming migration policies from various agencies. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin has previously mentioned that 25 bills related to migration control, the legal status of foreigners, and the provision of Russian citizenship are under consideration by deputies.
The Russian Investigative Committee has put forward its own suggestions for “improving migration legislation.”
The Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin discussed these proposals with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, explaining how they should be implemented and whether foreign labor is necessary at all.
Bastrykin reportedly pointed out that the Investigative Committee first drew attention to migrant crime issues several years ago. “This year, Russian investigators have sent more than 1,400 cases involving crimes committed by foreign citizens to a court. There has been an 11% increase in the number of serious crimes committed by migrants, and the number of crimes committed by individuals illegally residing in Russia has tripled," he claimed.
The Russian chief investigator emphasized that he had repeatedly proposed various measures to address the situation. "The proposal to fingerprint foreign citizens was eventually implemented, now conducted during their registration at migration centers. The introduction of mandatory genomic registration for migrants was also suggested, and such an experiment may be conducted in Moscow. Currently, our employees are part of several working groups continuing to address these issues," Bastrykin explained.
He noted that to determine the need for foreign labor, the actual needs of the economy for migrant workers must be analyzed, and based on this data, effective measures should be developed to eliminate factors threatening the country's internal stability.
"In addition, it is proposed to create a roadmap for replacing migrant workers with Russian citizens, ensuring decent levels of social and labor guarantees for compatriots," Bastrykin said.
Bastrykin believes that a program could be developed for the internal relocation of domestic labor resources to specific projects, providing official employment and housing in dormitories or housing programs, citing existing positive examples.
"One entrepreneur in the Moscow oblast built a hotel to attract labor force, ensuring decent living conditions and creating jobs with proper working conditions and decent wages. It turned out that not only foreign citizens but also Russians from neighboring regions expressed a desire to work. This shows that by providing decent conditions, employers can manage without attracting foreigners, thus providing work for compatriots," he said.
He argued for placing more responsibility on employers. “Employers should be required to provide housing for migrant workers, reimburse transportation costs, and create a financial deposit for deportation purposes. At the same time, it is necessary to economically incentivize entrepreneurs using Russian labor resources and impose a significant tax on the use of foreign labor,” Bastrykin explained.
