The Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor on Homeland Security, Mr. György Bakondi, sees it as a significant step forward that Parliament voted on Monday to expand the range of asylum procedures which can be performed at the border.
As Mr. Bakondi explained, this will prevent large numbers of illegal immigrants staying in Hungary and reduce pressure on reception centres.
Those whom the authorities apprehend for crossing the border illegally will continue to be charged and sent to court, he noted. He added that the legislative amendment was necessary because in many cases it is difficult to prove the crime, and the majority of migrants who have been taken to open camps have left the facilities without waiting for their asylum requests to be processed.
The Minister of Interior’s Parliamentary State Secretary Károly Kontrát explained that migrants who have committed only misdemeanours but not crimes – having crossed an already breached part of the security fence or having crossed the border while hiding in a railway vehicle – and who are apprehended by the authorities within 8 kilometres of the border, will be accompanied back to the their point of entry, where they can submit a request for asylum if they wish. The amendment enables rapid processing without the need to expel those involved, the State Secretary added, saying that the main goal of the new measure is to prevent people remaining in Hungary illegally.
In reply to a question on the proposed transit zone in Ásotthalom, Mr. Kontrát said that the two existing zones at Tompa and Röszke are serving their purpose adequately, and a final decision on opening a third zone will be made if a greater need emerges.
Mr. Bakondi was also asked about the Orlando shooting on Sunday night, in which fifty people died and a further fifty-three were injured. The Chief Security Advisor said the Government condemns the act of terrorism and he expressed his condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
The ordering of further measures is not required in Hungary as long as the current security measures are maintained, he said.