Since the beginning of this year, the Hungarian authorities have prevented the illegal crossing of the border by more than 54,000 people and brought to justice more than 500 smugglers, said the chief security adviser György Bakondi.
According to him, such figures are much higher than in the same period a year earlier, when a total of 17,000 illegal immigrants were detained by police in Hungary and 200 smugglers were prosecuted.
“Human smuggling is a thriving business,” Bacondi said.
Earlier this week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyyarto said that “as long as we are in government, no illegal immigrants will enter Hungarian territory.”
Minister Siyarto shared a video published by the leading American channel FOX News Tucker Carlson, recorded in Hungary. In the video, Carlson stressed the government’s decision to erect a border fence along the southern borders of the Central European country “in the face of strong international pressure” to respond to the 2015 migration crisis.
According to Clarsson, this “wall actually put an end to illegal migration into the country.”
During Clarsson’s visit to the Hungarian-Serbian border, he said he saw police officers on the Hungarian border politely treating two Syrian migrants and escorting them back to Serbia.
However, Hungary is often criticized for its treatment of asylum seekers. In addition, for the same reason, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) suspended its activities in this country earlier this year.
Frontex’s decision came after a December ruling by the European Court of Justice (EU) stating that Hungary was violating EU law by pushing asylum seekers and migrants back to Serbia across the Hungarian-Serbian border.
In addition to Hungary’s problem of increasing the number of illegal border crossings, Lithuania has also faced a sharp increase in the number of illegal migrants from Belarus, which prompted the Lithuanian authorities to declare a state of emergency earlier.
This situation is the result of growing tensions between the European Union and Belarus.