DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said asylum seekers in Northern Ireland should be treated "with respect" but his party has issues with an "open-border policy".
Sir Jeffrey set out his party's approach following questions after a unionist-majority council rejected funding for asylum seekers and refugees.
Most unionists including DUP representatives on Mid and East Antrim Borough Council voted down the offer of almost £100,000 of Stormont funding earlier this year.
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An SDLP councillor described the decision as "shameful", but a DUP councillor said there was a "lack of clarity" around the funds and spoke of concerns around housing stock.
The DUP is also standing some candidates in next week's council election who have faced criticism over comments about immigration and asylum seekers.
Belfast candidate Bradley Ferguson last month apologised for sharing a tweet which said "diversity is not always a strength" as it could mean "fewer white people, fewer Englishmen and fewer Christians".
Mid and East Antrim councillor Marc Collins is also facing a standards watchdog probe over Facebook remarks in which he raised concerns about the Home Office using a Carrickfergus hotel to temporarily accommodate asylum seekers.
Sir Jeffrey was asked about the DUP's stance during its manifesto launch in Belfast for the council election on May 18.
The DUP leader said Northern Ireland will always provide a "safe haven for those who are genuinely fleeing conflict and war".
But he said the UK's immigration system must be "tightened up" so that criminal gangs and human traffickers cannot "exploit weaknesses".
Sir Jeffrey said: "Where people are refugees in this country, where they have entered this country lawfully or where they are awaiting a decision on asylum, then of course people should treat them with respect.
"But we do have issues I have to say, in terms of an open-border policy and people entering this country illegally and we do believe that measures are required to address this problem."
The Lagan Valley MP said the DUP opposed the UK Government's Illegal Migration Bill in the House of Commons, saying the plans were not "workable".
He added: "But that does not mean we don't want to see proper measures taken to control our borders, to ensure that the people traffickers, the criminal gangs, the people bringing drugs into this country, that they do not have free access into our jurisdiction.
"So there is a balance to be struck.
"We will always provide a safe haven for those who are genuinely fleeing conflict and war and who are looking for a place of safety.
"But we can't, at the same time, sit back whilst criminal gangs, human traffickers, and others exploit weaknesses in our immigration system. And that's why it needs to be tightened up but in an ethical and fair and balanced way."
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