ARKHANGELSK, April 16./TASS/. Efforts to prevent illegal migration in Russia’s northeast must be stepped up, while attempts to create ethnic enclaves must be thwarted, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said.

"I want to draw specific attention to the situation in the migration sphere. Illegal migration continues to fuel crime, including those related to terrorism and extremism," Patrushev told a meeting on security in the Northwestern Federal District in Arkhangelsk.

"Given numerous violations in the migration sphere, as well as the danger that people involved in subversive-terrorist and extremist activities may get into the district under the guise of labor migrants and forced migrants, I ask you to step up work to counter illegal migration, to thwart attempts to form ethnic enclaves and illegal labor activities of foreign citizens, to promptly identify among migrants individuals inclined toward nefarious activity," the Security Council secretary said.

The Russian president has ordered that migration policy be overhauled taking into account the national interests and security of the population, and the importance of preserving Russia’s culture and language, Patrushev reiterated.