According to the Ministry of Interior’s Parliamentary State Secretary, the triple protection along the Serbian border is working; the number of migrants attempting to cross the Hungarian-Serbian border illegally has fallen to under 1 percent of its 14 September level.
Károly Kontrát said in Várpolta on Wednesday: “81 illegal border crossers were apprehended along the Serbian-Hungarian border that was closed off on 15 September; this is less than 1 percent of the 9830 illegal immigrants who crossed the border on 14 September”. “This shows that the triple border protection system incorporating the tightening of legislation and the involvement of police reinforced by border surveillance and military personnel, in addition to the physical barrier itself, is working”, he continued.
The Minister of State told reporters that a total of 291,618 illegal immigrants had been apprehended in Hungary until midnight on Wednesday, including 203,380 along the Hungarian-Serbian border and 87,243 along the Hungarian-Croatian border, the latter of which have crossed the border during the past two weeks.
175,973 immigrants have submitted requests for asylum including 64,909 Syrian, 46,307 Afghan and 24,668 Kosovan citizens, he continued, adding that proceedings against human traffickers had been launched in 1153 cases.
Mayor of Várpalota Márta Talabér (Fidesz-KDNP) also told the press that she had received a letter “with a tone of disapproval and accusation” from the leader of the settlement’s twin town in Italy. In the letter, Mayor of Borgo San Lorenzo Paolo Omoboni enquired as to whether the Várpalota city council agreed with the Government’s activities.
According to Mayor Talabér, the leader of the twin city wrote the letter for purposes of improving personal PR, in view of the fact that the letter has appeared on several Italian websites since being received in Hungary, in addition to which the Italian Mayor has also published private messages exchanged between the two city leaders. “What one must look for in a twin city relationship is what binds us together, not individual political interests”, Mayor Talabér said.