The number of illegal border crossings is on the rise in Hungary

The number of illegal border crossings is on the rise in Hungary and the rest of Europe, with more and more migrant groups stranded on the Western Balkan route attempting to cross into Hungary forcefully, the prime minister’s chief domestic security advisor said on Friday.

A total of 98 tunnels have been discovered on the southern border since 2019, 66 of which had been completed and used by migrants to enter the country, György Bakondi told a press conference. This year alone, the authorities have found 17 tunnels, he added.

Also, migrants have already made five attempts this year to enter the country forcefully in large groups, Bakondi said. The first attempt happened on the night of New Year’s Eve, while two attempts were made in May and one in July, he said. The most recent attempt came this past Wednesday when a group of some 20 migrants on the Serbian side of the border threw bricks aimed at police on the Hungarian side, he added.

The Hungarian

authorities have apprehended 57,971 illegal migrants so far this year,

compared with 18,500 in the same period in 2020, Bakondi said. Altogether 548 people smugglers have been arrested this year, as against 223 in the first seven months of last year, he added.

Bakondi said these figures made it clear that

Hungary’s border authorities were under constant pressure,

adding that because the migrants stranded on the Western Balkan route could no longer afford to hire people smugglers, they were making more and more attempts to cross the border in groups.