On Wednesday, György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, told Hungarian television channel M1 in its morning programme that in the past twenty-four hours 1,060 illegal migrants have attempted to enter Hungary.
Of these, 190 succeeded in getting through the fence and Hungarian authorities prevented the other 870 people from doing so. He also said that the new border protection system is expected to be an increased deterrent, since there could be a significant preventive effect if migrants see that it is not worth trying to cross the border illegally, as the probability of being apprehended is one hundred per cent.
He added that in accordance with the new rules, as part of the infringement procedure, if migrants are apprehended but no crime was committed they will be escorted back to the nearest gate in the fence. This is where they will be told where they can submit their asylum request, following which they will be sent back to the other side of the fence. According to Mr. Bakondi, migrants tend to be cooperative and take note of the information they are given. He also said that currently 300–350 people are waiting in the Tompa and Röszke transit zones.
Mr. Bakondi added that border protection forces have been strengthened; altogether ten thousand soldiers and police officers are taking part in combating illegal migration. He said that the range of technical equipment has also been increased: thermographic cameras and helicopters are being used, as recent experience shows that people smuggling rings use advanced monitoring devices to detect points where they can enter the country by avoiding border guards.