Botched raid exposes flaws in Malta’s immigration system

Immigration officers broke into an elderly woman’s home based on incorrect information and failed to inform the home owner of the error or fix the damage caused by their botched raid.

Mario Role’ told The Shift that his brother had visited the home of their elderly mother in Marsa to pick up some clothes when he found the main door broken and left open. The house had been unoccupied since December, when the 95-year-old moved into an elderly home after a fall.

A piece of wood had been crudely attached to the door in an attempt to fix it. Initially, the family thought a neighbor might have tried to repair the door, knowing the elderly woman no longer lived there.

A neighbor informed them a few days later that immigration officers had raided the home at 7 am on a Sunday, three days before the family discovered the damage.

“Someone might have given them an address, and they might have mixed up the road,” Role’ said to The Shift. “But now the Commissioner, the Inspector, or the Superintendent, whoever is responsible, knows whose house it is. They might have had the excuse that they didn’t contact us because they didn’t know whose house it was, but now they do, because we made a report at the police station.”

He added, “A week has passed, and they still don’t have the decency to call and apologize or to say, ‘Listen, I will send our workers to fix or replace the door.’ Is there a need for us to call the Police Commissioner?”

Nationalist MP Darren Carabott brought the incident to public attention, claiming that the immigration officers had mistakenly raided the elderly woman’s home based on incorrect information. He criticized the authorities for not informing the family, pointing out that they only attempted a makeshift repair by attaching “two screws and a piece of wood” to the traditional Maltese door.

Carabott expressed concern about the broader implications of the incident on the community: “Above all, it’s a worrying situation for the entire area. Imagine sitting comfortably at home and hearing this news, knowing that due to a wrong address or incorrect information, they could come into your house and grab you. Consider the anxiety this causes for families living nearby, knowing this happened just a few streets away and could happen to them.”

“This shows how crucial it is to have a system that works,” Carabott said, “and above all, to take action to restore peace of mind and security to families in this area.”

In a related issue, TCN Malta, an organization supporting third-country nationals, reported that several individuals were detained at Identity Malta offices during routine biometric appointments despite holding valid visas.

The arrests occurred due to expired approval-in-principle documents, raising serious concerns about inconsistent and overreaching immigration enforcement.

TCN Malta has urged its community members to keep their visas current and offered support to those affected by these actions.

These incidents expose serious flaws in Malta’s law enforcement and immigration systems, raising concerns about misinformation and inconsistent practices and the urgent need for reform.