A record number of illegals has been registered in the Federal Republic since the country's reunification
Such data were announced at the beginning of April by the President of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann. 'This is the highest level of illegal migration that Germany has experienced since reunification,' Romann noted. According to the head of the German agency, which is also responsible for border protection, the absolute majority of illegals enter Germany via Austria and France. 'At our southern borders this number has more than tripled, and at the western borders it has doubled,' the official said.
He also noted that at the same time the German side managed to prevent the entry into Germany of almost 30,000 foreigners, both through transit countries and in the home countries of potential illegals. 'That is first-class work for only forty German security personnel working at foreign airports and German diplomatic missions abroad,' Dieter Romann stressed.
This year the number of such personnel will be increased to fifty. In addition, cooperation in the area of German border protection with other European law enforcement agencies is to be expanded. For example, special mobile groups are already operating in Bavaria and Austria, which include police officers from Austria and Italy in addition to German police. 'We are also actively supporting our Serbian colleagues, who are controlling the border with Hungary in light of the sharp increase in illegal migration of Kosovars,' the president of the Federal Police emphasizes.
Over the past year, more than 2,100 people involved in organizing the smuggling of illegals into Germany fell into the hands of German law enforcement agencies (in 2013, 1,535). Often these are members of organized criminal groups who are not deterred even by the long prison sentences that await them in Germany. In 2014, the absolute majority of illegals arrived in Germany from Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Serbia, and Somalia.
'Federal Police officers are working at the limit of their personnel and technical capabilities; currently, between 200 and 300 illegal migrants are being identified daily,' notes Dieter Romann, emphasizing that German police officers 'always take human destinies into account.'
According to the German official, Germany is fully aware of the importance of law enforcement efforts to prevent illegal entry into the country. 'Alongside international Islamic terrorism, illegal migration is the biggest challenge for the Federal Police,' Dieter Romann reminds. He is convinced that his agency should have serious support from other German institutions, such as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. For example, accelerated processing of asylum applications and 'consistent extradition' of Kosovar citizens to their homeland would certainly be an effective method of combating illegals from that country, believes the head of the Federal Police.
Criticizing Europe's current policy on refugees, the official notes that 'given the current European legal standards, managing migration flows is becoming increasingly difficult.'