Special mobile facilities run by the Federal Migration Service have been placed around downtown Moscow to increase government control over migration into the Russian capital, the migration service’s chief said Monday.
Last month, the migration service unveiled a plan to equip Moscow’s railway stations, airports and transit stations with migration service units that would specifically target the flow of migrant workers into the city.
“Five units are already operational … The number of such units will grow,” Federal Migration Service head Konstantin Romodanovsky told reporters.
Although Russia is highly economically dependent on this migrant labor, public opinion is broadly against increased immigration, and the issue has become a focal point in the upcoming Moscow mayoral elections, with many candidates calling for tougher measures against illegal immigrants.
