Greek lawmakers were set to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa for at least three months, a move rights groups have called illegal.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Wednesday that Greece will pause processing asylum applications from people arriving from North Africa as the nation faces a surge in migrants. “With legislation that will be submitted to the parliament tomorrow,

In an urgent response to a surge in Greece's migrant flows, particularly from Libya to Crete, Mitsotakis announced stringent new measures.