Over 700 migrants detained at Hungarian-Serbian border in January, says Orbán’s advisor

Border agencies detained more than 700 illegal migrants at the Hungarian-Serbian border in January, the prime minister’s chief domestic security advisor told public news channel M1 on Tuesday.

Most of them sought to enter Hungary by hiding in a vehicle, György Bakondi said.

Hungary has strengthened its double border fence with technical equipment, increased its police staff, reviewed the sources of support for NGOs helping migrants, and trained its authorities to handle an increased wave of migrants, he said.

“Tight border control is where the stability of Hungary’s domestic security starts,” he said.

There are more than 70,000 migrants en route through the Balkans to Europe, most of them from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Algeria, Bakondi said.

What is at stake at the EP elections is whether or not we can protect Europe from immigration

“The most important stake of the EP elections is whether or not we will be able to protect Europe from immigration and pro-immigration politicians”, Bakondi declared in a statement to reporters on Monday.

“Last year, Hungary made several efforts to guarantee security, and the implementation of measures aimed at security will continue this year”, Mr. Bakondi highlighted.

The Chief Security Advisor said the fact that there are no extremist public security events or no-go zones in Hungary, and that the maintenance o the domestic security situation can be guaranteed, was one of the greatest achievements of 2018.

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“One of the important issues relating to the migration situation if the protection of the external border, in support of which Hungary has been consequently speaking out at international forums since 2015, and the importance of which also began to be voiced by European Union bureaucracy and many politicians last year”, he explained.

“The Italian government measures have shown that mass illegal migration can also be stopped along maritime borders, meaning that stopping migration is simply a matter of political will”, he pointed out.

“The main directions of the Western Balkan migration route have changed from the earlier Macedonia–Serbia–Hungary route to the Macedonia–Serbia–Bosnia-Hercegovina–Croatia–Slovenia or Albania–Montenegro–Bosnia-Hercegovina–Croatia–Slovenia route”, he stated. “After setting out from Turkey, immigrants often aim for the Turkish-Greek land border instead of for the Greek islands”, he added.