Europe Cracks Down on Irregular Migrants

iStock/Thinkstock(ROME) — A European-wide operation to stop and possibly deport people without proper documents is being denounced by human rights groups as a “hunt.”

For the next two weeks, police will be on the lookout for irregular migrants at bus depots, border crossings and train stations. The Italian-led and Europe-wide operation is being called “Mos Maiorum,” or “ancestral tradition.”

Experts estimate that anywhere up to 450,000 people without proper documents are in the European Union, having fled war-torn countries like Syria and Eritrea.

Some migrants are avoiding the checks with an app where users share information of where the checkpoints are.

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