City Hall will create a volunteer brigade to help catch illegal migrants at construction sites, markets, train stations and other places where they are "highly likely" to be found, a senior official has said.
Volunteers will "help" officers from the Federal Migration Service conduct raids and daily patrols, check tenants' registration and even detain lawbreakers, said Alexei Maiorov, head of the city's regional security department, according to a statement on City Hall's website.
Known as druzhiniki, the volunteers have dabbled in anti-migrant work before. Now they will do so on a regular basis, and the city will create the position of head volunteer, Maiorov said.
The proposed unit already includes more than 300 people, he said.
In return for their service, the volunteers will likely receive discounts on public transportation. They will also get a special uniform, a senior Federal Migration Service official said, adding that the outfit had already been designed.
