From next month, Turkey will begin imposing quotas on the number of residence permits for foreigners, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on Saturday amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, Ahval reported.

From July 1, the number of residence permits for foreigners will be limited to 20 percent of the population of some areas of Turkey, the Hürriyet newspaper reported, citing Soylu at a press conference at the General Directorate of Migration Management in Ankara.

Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees, with about 3.7 Syrian migrants living in the country alone. Demographics are facing a wave of xenophobia in Turkey, with hostility towards refugees exacerbated by high unemployment, a weak economy and soaring inflation.

Soylu said the new ruling would effectively close over 1,000 Turkish neighborhoods to foreign residents.

The future of the country's 5 million migrants has sparked a heated debate in Turkish politics as the country counts down to the next elections set for summer 2023. Opposition party leaders have criticized Ankara for its refugee policy but vowed to facilitate the return of migrants if elected to power.

In May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government was working on a new project to facilitate the voluntary return home of some 1 million Syrian refugees living in the country, marking a change in tone on Ankara's long-standing migrant policy.