Minister Yerlikaya announces the number of Syrians in Turkey! Will they return to their countries?

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya met with journalists in Ankara. Minister Ali Yerlikaya also made important statements on topics such as the fight against irregular migration, crime rates in Turkey, and the fight against organized crime groups.

Minister Yerlikaya stated that as of November 30, 2024, there are 4 million 171 thousand registered regular foreigners in Turkey, of whom 2 million 938 thousand are Syrian, 1 million 31 thousand hold residence permits, and 201 thousand are immigrants under international protection.

According to Hürriyet, the highlights of Minister Yerlikaya's statements are as follows:

"There are 2 million 938 thousand regular immigrants in Turkey. 1 million 247 thousand of them are from Aleppo. 189 thousand came from Idlib and 107 thousand from Deir ez-Zor. Since 2016, 737 thousand immigrants have returned. The monthly average of those returning in 2024 is 11 thousand. We say 'Syria belongs to the Syrians.' If there is a safe environment, everyone wants to return to their land. People from Aleppo also want to return to Aleppo. Currently, we tell those who say 'I want to leave immediately' to wait. If a record comes in saying it is safe, it will be announced. Then this monthly figure of 11 thousand will increase significantly. I cannot give a figure regarding the expectation, but it will increase by a very large proportion.

Among the 2 million 938 thousand Syrians, the number of those between the ages of 15-64 is around 1 million 654 thousand. If they are working somewhere, they must work with insurance. The rule here is equality. We will hold a meeting with foreign business people in Gaziantep next week. We will launch a campaign regarding this in January.

We conducted address verification. We saw that the addresses of 731 thousand immigrants were not up to date. We could not find 150 thousand 327 of them. These families are gone; our opinion is that they have migrated to Europe. The address update process has reached a point where they will constantly send us location-based messages. If a location is not reported, the Gendarmerie will go there. Unless there is a reasonable excuse, the rules are very strict. If they do not send their location twice, we take them and bring them to a camp.

Our biggest headache is the migrant smuggling organizers; they have built such a network. We tell them, 'Continue if you have the courage.' But Thrace is 99.9 percent closed; absolutely no one can pass. Turkey has now moved out of the route of being a target and transit country for migration.

Those who commit sexual crimes, child abuse, and drug-related crimes need treatment and repentance. We learn the release dates of those who commit these crimes from prison and follow them. In Ordu, plainclothes gendarmerie followed someone who was released from prison for a drug-related crime. This person ate his meal, walked around, and then rented a car. 26 hours later, the Gendarmerie caught him again with drugs in the trunk of his car, and he went to prison. We tell those who are released from prison for drug or sexual harassment crimes, 'The moment you intend to commit a crime, we will take you.' The number of home burglaries in Turkey has fallen to 83.7 per day. In Istanbul, this figure is 14. The Police and Gendarmerie have succeeded in this."

News Source: 12punto