In recent years, it has become increasingly evident along the European Union’s (EU) external border that Russia and Belarus are redirecting and adjusting illegal migrant flows depending on the domestic political situation in Latvia, Lithuania, or Poland, said State Border Guard Chief Guntis Pujāts in an interview with Latvian Television’s program Rīta Panorāma.
At the early stage of this so-called instrumentalization, Lithuania’s border was the first to be tested, but in the past two years the focus has shifted more toward Poland and Latvia, Pujāts explained. In Poland, more than 22,000 attempts to illegally cross the external green border have already been recorded.
“The same offenders are directed to cross the Polish border illegally, and then they appear again at the Latvian border, and vice versa,” the border guard chief illustrated.
According to him, the most tense months on Latvia’s border in 2023 were August, September, and October, linked to the requirement introduced on the 1st of September that Russian citizens must pass a state language exam in order to extend their residence permits in Latvia.
“It is very clear that this instrumentalization is tied to the internal political processes of a specific country
– Latvia, Lithuania, or Poland – and in order to destabilize the security situation, additional difficulties are deliberately created at the border,” Pujāts said.
Speaking about efforts to combat illegal migrant transporters, he stressed that active preventive work is carried out in the border area, informing people they encounter that taking illegal migrants into their cars could lead to criminal liability.
So far this year, the Border Guard has detained 64 people involved in transporting illegal migrants. About one-third of them are Latvian nationals – both citizens and non-citizens – while the second-largest group are Ukrainian nationals. They are followed by Estonian and Lithuanian nationals, as well as individuals from more distant countries who have legally obtained residence permits in Latvia.
Pujāts reminded that the Border Guard has been working under reinforced conditions for the past five years.
As previously reported by LETA,
this year 9,077 people have been prevented from crossing the Belarus–Latvia border,
while 15 illegal migrants were allowed to enter on humanitarian grounds. Last year, 5,388 people were prevented from illegal crossings from Belarus, with 26 admitted into Latvia for humanitarian reasons.
The government has extended the reinforced border security regime at the Belarusian border until December 31 of this year. The stricter measures were introduced in response to the increased flow of illegal migrants orchestrated by Belarus.
The reinforced regime applies to Ludza and surrounding parishes, Krāslava and its parishes, Augšdaugava Municipality, Daugavpils, and Kaunata parish in Rēzekne Municipality.
The situation with illegal migrants at the Belarusian border is expected to remain tense until winter, Pujāts previously told LETA.
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