Migrants from high-risk countries waiting in Belarus for their chance to enter the European Union illegally can use not only Lithuania, which is currently raising alarm about the wave of illegal migration, but also Latvia, which has now entered the blacklist of President Alexander Lukashenko after replacing the Belarusian flag during the hockey championship.
Every other day the Latvian State Border Guard reports of some third-country nationals - Iraqis, Syrians, Russians and Ukrainians from the occupied territories - even some people from Nigeria come to Latvia. Of course, the reports record only those few illegal people that the border guards manage to catch and send to the prison or back where they came from, but no one has a real idea or evidence of the real numbers.
This is the same as smuggled cigarettes, which are confiscated in ridiculously small quantities, but the total smuggled consumption shown in the studies is estimated at 20%. The possible illegal presence of migrants in Latvia is evidenced both by the growing problem of fake students in recent years and by their notably numerous presence in the food delivery business. However, so far there are no signs that would make the State Border Guard talk about a wave of illegal migration having reached Latvia. At least for now.
After Lithuania requested the help of the European Union organization FRONTEX on Friday, the first group of illegal migrants from Belarus has been caught in Latvia this year as well. Border guard spokeswoman Kristīne Pētersone says they were four Iraqi citizens. It is significant that Lithuanian colleagues are also preparing for the invasion of Iraqis from Belarus. Geographically, Latvia is of less interest to them than Lithuania, because from there it is closer to Poland and Germany. Latvia is more interested in Vietnamese coming from Russia, but since this border zone was built and a fence installed, attempts to cross the green border illegally have significantly decreased.
There is no fence on the Belarusian border, but the border itself is much easier to look over. Of course, Latvian border guards are currently monitoring the situation more closely, as signals of a possible wave of illegal migrants are coming from both Belarus and Lithuania, and Lithuania claims that due to poor neighborly relations, Belarus is turning a blind eye to the migrants at the border. Belarusians deny this, and their official newscast also shows that catching the illegals has not stopped.
The latest case was recorded on June 11 in the Voranava region. The group of offenders is reported to have crossed the alarm infrastructure, but did not reach the border and was detained. According to the Belarusian Border Guard, the number of migrants trying to enter the European Union illegally has increased significantly since the beginning of the year, and the number of migrants apprehended directly at the Lithuanian border has increased 20 times.
The Lithuanian authorities are currently concerned that Belarusian border guards have been ordered to look the other way when migrants arrive. There are many migrants, and at the end of May, President Alexander Lukashenko threatened that Belarus would no longer slow down the flow of drugs and migrants across the border. The international conflict, it should be recalled, was caused by the forced landing in Minsk of a plane flying from Athens to Vilnius to arrest one of the opposition. It is possible that these threats are already being realized. Yesterday another group of migrants was arrested in Lithuania. It happened shortly after midnight in the Ignalina district. Four of the detainees immediately sought asylum. It is a common practice of migrants to delay their return. Before that, some border violators were caught on Sunday night, and a particularly large number - 48 people. Lithuanian news agencies report that Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has approached the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the increased flow of migrants from Belarus. Illegal border crossings are a crime, transporting illegal migrants is a crime. Those who want to cross, pay transporters from 15 to 30 thousand euros. They fly from Istanbul and Baghdad to Minsk and continue to the European border.
The Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior reports that between June 1-16, 204 migrants crossed the border illegally. Border guards have been increased at the border, but this is clearly not enough to catch all criminals. That is why the help of the European border guard agency, FRONTEX, is being sought. In mid-July, about 30 border guards working for Europe could arrive in Lithuania. At present, the trails of illegal migrants can be seen along practically the entire length of the border, because there is no fence, just like on the border with Latvia. If the Lithuanians put physical security along the entire border, then inevitably criminals will look for other ways to enter the European Union, and then the next choice will be Latvia. The road is longer, but also much less traveled. The Latvian State Border Guard must be very attentive at the moment, and other services must be ready to support it. Criminals are nearby and in large numbers. The Lithuanian Border Guard estimates that there are currently around 1,500 migrants in Minsk who will try to enter the European Union in the near future. Who are these people and for what purposes they want to come here can only be guessed.
At best, they are just criminals, at worst, terrorists.