Germany Witnesses 57% Drop in Unauthorized Border Crossings

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Border checks at Germany's borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland have significantly reduced illegal migration, lowering unauthorised entries to under 300 per day from the previous 700.
• The total illegal entries at these borders, including Austria, decreased from 18,492 before the controls to 11,029 in the 30 days after.
• Poland experienced a notable 56 per cent drop in attempts to enter illegally.

The implementation of border checks at Germany’s boundaries with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland last month has resulted in a substantial decrease in illegal migration.

As Deutsche Welle reports, unauthorised border entries numbered fewer than 300 per day since October 16, in contrast to the approximately 700 per day recorded in the 30-day period preceding the introduction of controls.

The total count of illegal entries at the borders of the three countries and Austria, where controls have been enforced since the 2015 migrant crisis, was 18,492 before October 16. However, in the 30 days following this date, the number decreased to 11,029, marking a 40 per cent reduction. In this regard, attempts to illegally enter Poland experienced a significant 56 per cent drop, with 2,795 instances compared to the previous 6,411.

Last month, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser informed the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, about Germany’s decision to reintroduce controls at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. Despite not being explicitly permitted by the EU’s Schengen borderless travel rules, this directive has been extended multiple times.

In addition, the police pointed to another contributing factor for the decline in illegal migration, namely the newly implemented border controls by Serbia at its boundary with Hungary. The report highlighted that many of the illegal migrants taking this route had originally intended to enter Germany eventually.

The challenges posed by the influx of migrants are reflected in the statistics, with nearly 234,000 people applying for asylum in Germany from January to September, an increase of 73 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Moreover, numerous German municipalities are expressing concerns about resource constraints for the accommodation, care and integration of refugees, especially as the country is currently hosting over one million refugees from Ukraine following Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Previous data released by German police showed a worrying rise in unauthorized entries into the country, with more than 21,366 people entering without authorization in September this year. This marks the highest monthly number since February 2016.

Such figures surpass the previous record set in February 2016, during the peak of the “refugee crisis”, when 25,650 people arrived.

Further police data for the period January-September 2023 reveals that a total of 92,119 individuals entered Germany irregularly. This trend raises concerns that the country could surpass the 112,000 individuals who entered irregularly in 2016 if the current trajectory continues.