Entered Brandenburg illegally: Federal police take seven refugees out of the trunk of a smuggler Photo: Axel Lier
From BZ/dpa
The number of refugees coming irregularly across the border into Germany this year will be higher than it has been since 2016.
From January to September, 92,119 people have been registered as having entered the country illegally, the federal police said on Saturday in Potsdam.
This number was last exceeded in 2016 – after the year of the so-called refugee crisis – with 111,843. Last year there were 91,986 people.
In September 2023, the federal police counted 21,366 refugees who entered the country illegally – around twice as many as in July with 10,714. It was the highest monthly figure since February 2016, when 25,650 people were registered.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in “Spiegel” that he wanted to take tougher action against rejected asylum seekers and limit irregular migration in Germany. “We finally have to deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany,” said the SPD politician to “Spiegel”.
Last Monday, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) notified the EU Commission of fixed controls for the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland for an initial period of ten days. Faeser wants to limit irregular immigration and combat smuggling more strongly.
According to the ministry, the notification can be extended for a total of two months. Such inpatient checks have been in place between Bavaria and Austria since 2015, but with a longer time limit.