Number of Irregular Migrants Has Almost Doubled During Past Year
A significant increase in irregular migrants has been reported in the Czech Republic during the past year. Most of the migrants who tried to enter the country illegally in 2022 were Syrian citizens. According to InfoMigrants, last year, the number of irregular migrants entering the Czech Republic almost tripled to 29,235, while in 2021, the country had reported 11,170 irregular migrants. In addition, Interior Ministry figures reveal that in 2022, almost 21,000 of the arrivals were Syrians seeking to travel to Western Europe. Meanwhile, only 694 migrants, including 50 Syrians, applied for asylum in the Czech Republic itself. Last year, police also arrested 277 suspected human traffickers, which is more than four times the number od those arrested in 2021. At the end of last August, Czech authorities reported that a total of 3,651 people had crossed the border through Slovakia. Further data from the Ministry also show that the number of illegal border crossings was 1,300 more people than in 2021 and much higher than in 2020, when about 100 people entered this country illegally. Later in September, the Czech government decided to reintroduce internal border controls with Slovakia in an effort to prevent illegal migrants from using its territory to transit...