Illegal migration – Special legal order extended until March 7

In light of increasing migration pressure on Hungary’s border, the cabinet has decided to extend the related special legal order until March 7 next year, the Government Information Centre (KTK) has announced.

The relevant government decree will soon be published in the official Hungarian Gazette, KTK said in a statement late on Tuesday.

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KTK noted that more than 162,000 illegal entrants have been detained at the border so far this year, as against 60,000 during the same period in 2021. “This means that 100,000 more migrants have sought to illegally enter Hungary in twelve months and the number of people smugglers has doubled compared with the same period of the previous year,” KTK said.

It said that migrants stranded in the Balkans were becoming more and more violent when attempting to enter Hungary’s territory and regularly attacked police officers protecting the border.

“The national government will not allow Hungary to be turned into a country of immigrants,” the statement said. “The Hungarian people expect from the government to protect the country’s borders.”