If I had been sitting on one of those buses, I probably wouldn’t have been stopped.I’m Turkish. I’m a third-country national.If immigration officers had checked my documents, they would have found exactly what they were supposed to find: someone living in Malta legally.The reason I suspect I wouldn’t have been stopped in the first place is much simpler. I don’t look like the type of migrant people imagine when they hear the term “third-country national”.And that should concern everyone, including people who support stricter immigration enforcement.Before I go any further, let me be clear: I have no issue with immigration enforcement.Every country has the right to control its borders. Every country has the right to know who is living within its territory. If someone is residing in Malta illegally, the authorities have every right to investigate and, where necessary, remove them.That isn’t what concerns me.What concerns me is the growing perception that immigration status is being judged by appearance.I am Turkish. I have lived in Malta for more than eight years. I completed my education here, graduated from university here, built friendships here and now work here.Malta has become home.Yet despite all of that, I know that my experience as a foreigner is not the same as everyone else’s. Because when most people think of a migrant, they don’t picture someone who looks like me. They don’t picture a white Turkish man.And that’s exactly why the recent reports surrounding public transport inspections have left me uneasy. If immigration officers are selecting people based on intelligence, evidence or specific information, then there is no issue. That is precisely how immigration enforcement should work.But if people are being selected because they “look foreign”, we have a serious problem.Not just because it is unfair. Not just because it humiliates people who have every legal right to be here. But because it doesn’t even make sense. Immigration status is not written on a person’s face.A Nigerian doctor who has spent a decade serving Maltese patients can have every document required by law and still attract suspicion because of how she looks.Meanwhile, a white foreign national who has overstayed a visa or residence permit could easily blend in. If appearance becomes a shortcut for legality, the system risks becoming both discriminatory and ineffective.And that brings me to something many people may not fully appreciate.Being a legal third-country national in Malta is not easy. Nobody accidentally becomes a legal TCN. There are residence permits to obtain and renew. Appointments to attend. Documents to gather. Bureaucratic hurdles to navigate. Deadlines to meet. Rules to follow.Anyone who has gone through the process knows how stressful it can be. It often takes months if you’re a first time applicant. And even once you obtain it, you spend years proving, over and over again, that you belong here legally.You study. You work. You contribute. You build a life.And then stories emerge suggesting that, for some people, the first thing that matters isn’t your paperwork but your appearance. That is why these stories strike such a nerve.The vast majority of third-country nationals in Malta are not hiding from the authorities. They are participating in Maltese society every single day. They are studying, working, paying taxes, raising families and contributing to the economy.Yet when immigration enforcement becomes associated with appearance rather than evidence, many begin to ask a simple question: “Would I have been stopped too?”That question matters.Because trust matters.A country can have strong immigration enforcement while also ensuring that people are treated fairly and with dignity. In fact, it must.The legitimacy of immigration enforcement depends on public confidence that people are being stopped because there is a legitimate reason to stop them, not because of the colour of their skin, their accent or where they were born.The debate should not be whether Malta enforces its immigration laws. Of course it should. The real question is whether authorities are looking for people who are breaking immigration laws, or simply looking for people who appear foreign.Those are not the same thing. One is law enforcement. The other is profiling.•