The Hungarian government is extending the mass immigration crisis for another six months as illegal migration continues to threaten Hungary, the Government Information Center said on Tuesday evening.
Under the Hungarian constitution, “crisis rules” allow the cabinet to issue government decrees in lieu of laws passed by parliament for the duration and pertaining to the crisis that warranted the special ruling. The government has used this special status in order to quickly react to the migration crisis and quickly implement new procedures as the situation develops.
Mass immigration has been a constant issue in Europe since 2015, with the most active route still being the Balkan route, which also includes the Hungarian border, the Information Center said in a statement. The center added that without Hungary’s border fence and border protection units, millions of illegal immigrants would have entered the country in the past nine years.
“International networks of people smugglers are constantly transporting migrants to the Hungarian border. Last year, 270,000 illegal border crossings were prevented by Hungarian authorities, more than double the number of the previous year,” the statement read.
Thousands of migrants are still gathering along the southern border, often engaging in violent or aggressive behavior with border police and border fighters, the Information Center noted.
“Despite the clear security and cultural problems caused by mass immigration in many Western European countries, there has been no change in the pro-immigration policy in Brussels, which continues to push for the admission and distribution of migrants. Hungary must therefore continue to defend itself. The crisis situation caused by mass immigration since 2016 serves this purpose and allows the government to take faster and more decisive decisions,” the statement concludes.
In recent days, the government has also tightened the protection of the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, following the appearance of large numbers of illegal migrants from Africa and Central Asia, who have been fleeing the war there. Non-Ukrainian citizens who arrived in Ukraine after the outbreak of the war can now only cross the Ukrainian-Hungarian border if they have valid documents to enter the Schengen Area.
The government has now decided to extend the government’s emergency crisis status until Sept. 7, 2023.
