According to statistics, from January to November 2018, law enforcement officers detained 6,066 illegal immigrants on international bus routes while trying to enter Germany. The number of foreigners attempting to enter the country illegally by rail was even higher – 7,943 people.
In addition, reports "Russkaya Germaniya", police also uncovered several hundred illegal immigrants last year who were being smuggled into Germany. In Passau, 174 people were detained, in Freilassing – 123, in Rosenheim – 115, in Kempten – 53. However, despite numerous arrests, in 21% of cases law enforcement failed to catch the organizers of illegal transportation.
Statistics show that the vast majority of refugees who arrived illegally in Germany are from Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Turkey, and Afghanistan. In 8,740 cases, refugees attempted to illegally enter Germany via the border with Austria.
Due to the large number of violations, German authorities now plan to conduct more thorough checks on trains and buses. However, implementing these plans in practice will be difficult, as the process of checking documents on buses has recently become significantly more complicated – following a recent decision by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
At that time, the ECJ, in an expert opinion for the German Federal Administrative Court, ruled that, according to the Schengen Borders Code, Germany's membership in the Schengen Area does not require identity checks of passengers by companies responsible for long-distance bus transportation.
This court decision was made after German and Spanish bus companies filed a lawsuit against the German authorities' regulation requiring them to check passports and residence permits of passengers entering the country.