By Michael Sauerbier
Finally border controls! After much hesitation, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has now set up checkpoints at the crossings to Poland. In the first few hours, 45 illegal migrants were caught – but only one was pushed back.
Long traffic jam on the motorway bridge near Frankfurt (Oder) Tuesday afternoon. The federal police have set up a checkpoint in the first layby behind the Polish border and narrowed traffic to one lane. Suspects are waved out and searched.
The federal police have begun regular checks on the city bridge between Frankfurt (Oder) and Slubice Photo: dpa picture alliance
“As soon as the ministry announced, we set up the first checkpoints,” police spokeswoman Alina Müller told the BZ. From the Pomellen motorway crossing near Stettin to the pedestrian bridge over the Neisse near Zelz in the south. With success.
During the night, the officials in Zelz only arrested five Somalis (25 to 29 years old) and two Yemenis (25 to 34 years old). Two hours later, six Syrians (3 to 48) were caught there. In nearby Groß Gastrose, the police stopped five Iranians (18 to 31) who were walking. None had valid papers.
The federal police made their biggest catch on Tuesday morning around 6:30 a.m. on the A 12 motorway: the officers found 18 (!) Indians and Bangladeshis in a van that was driving from Poland towards Berlin. The Ukrainian smuggler (38) was arrested. The police picked up nine more illegal migrants near the Frankfurt city bridge.
BUT: The police were only able to send one Chinese man with an expired visa back to Poland. “We had to take everyone else to the initial reception center,” said the police spokeswoman. “They had made requests for protection.”
“90 to 95 percent of the migrants who cross the border applied for asylum,” said Federal Police union leader Lars Wendland. “You can’t be turned away with that. Therefore, what everyone hopes will not happen.”
The SPD, CDU and Free Voters see border controls as a useful addition to catching smugglers.
Brandenburg’s right-wing extremist AfD faction leader Christoph Berndt calls for a border fence with Poland: “if necessary with barbed wire” Photo: Sauerbier, Michael
Brandenburg’s right-wing extremist AfD parliamentary group leader Christoph Berndt, on the other hand, is calling for a border fence with Poland, “with barbed wire if necessary.”. A nightmare for the economy and commuters, as the highway traffic jam shows.