According to national sources, the estimated number of irregular migrants in Cyprus is 50,000.
He was also responsible for immigration at the time when a large number of irregular migrants started arriving by boat from Libya.
It has since been suggested that to deport all of the irregular migrants from the UK would take 20 years and cost up to £12 billion.
The campaign is calling for a one-off naturalisation of long-term irregular migrants in the United Kingdom.
A recent study into irregular immigration states that "most irregular migrants have committed administrative offences rather than a serious crime".
The Sibilla sought to stop and inspect the ship suspected of containing irregular migrants.
Joint removals of irregular migrants to Afghanistan and other third countries (debate)
The border with Mexico remains a top concern due to the heavy flow of irregular migrants, some of whom are trafficked.
Statistics do not differentiate between irregular migrants and victims of trafficking.