Greece has conducted at least 76 raids on Romani communities in six months, involving 473 officers and targeting 152 communities. Documented as the most extensive anti-Roma police operation in decades by the European Roma Rights Centre, these actions are presented by Greek politicians as a response to organized crime.

However, the pattern of police actions, particularly "Operation ENTOS" (meaning "from within"), represents a strategic convergence of migration control, border security, and domestic policing that effectively criminalizes Romani life. This approach frames racialized minorities not as citizens but as internal threats requiring management and containment.

Authorities employ careful language, avoiding the term "Roma" in official briefings and instead referring to "socially homogeneous groups" and "hotspots of illegality." This bureaucratic euphemism allows the state to circumvent anti-discrimination laws while explicitly targeting specific neighborhoods.

This tactic is not unique to Greece. Slovenia has criminalized "illegal gatherings," a provision largely used against Romani neighborhoods, and Italy has targeted homeless Romani women through its security decree. Greece has scaled this approach, using neutral terminology to mask ethnic targeting within the framework of public order and creating a legal structure for collective punishment.

The raids, which have become a regular occurrence for Romani families in areas like Nea Zoi near Aspropyrgos, involve surveillance drones, K-9 units, tactical police, and armed officers breaking into homes, all under the guise of "public order."

This model of "preventive policing" is seen as a dangerous experiment in European governance, with Athens potentially providing a blueprint for similar actions across the European Union and beyond, threatening the fundamental rights of marginalized communities.

The European Roma Rights Centre, through its work, has documented the scale and nature of these operations, highlighting the systemic issues faced by the Romani population in Greece.

The long-term implications of such policies are a concern for human rights advocates, who fear a continent-wide shift towards criminalizing ethnicity under the guise of security and public order, potentially leading to further marginalization and human rights violations.