Konstantin Romodanovsky, the head of the Federal Migration Service, told a meeting of senior officials from migration agencies and interior ministries in the Commonwealth of Independent States that the United Nations had recognized Russia as one of the most open countries in the world, with an annual inflow of over 20 million immigrants.
"Attempts made by transnational criminal [organizations] to use Russia as a territory for illegal transit of immigrants from Asian and African countries to western Europe and other developed countries pose a serious threat to national security," Romodanovsky said.
He said illegal immigration was highly profitable for criminal organizations and warned that the process could trigger ethnic conflicts, lead to higher crime and bring more disease to the country.
Romodanovsky said most of the immigrants who came to Russia were from the former Soviet Union.
