Over the past three days, 179 individuals have attempted to illegally cross the Latvia–Belarus border, according to the State Border Guard.
The Border Guard noted that it had already been predicted that illegal migration flows would resume with the arrival of warmer weather. At the same time, supporters of illegal border crossings have also become more active.
So far this year, 877 people have been prevented from illegally crossing the national border, while seven individuals have been admitted on humanitarian grounds.
As previously reported, since the 19th of March, Latvia’s border checkpoints with Russia and Belarus—Pāternieki, Grebņeva, and Terehova—can only be crossed by car. The government made this decision following a request from the State Border Guard.
The Ministry of the Interior explained that the partial closure of border checkpoints is necessary due to the current geopolitical situation related to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
In 2023, 5 388 individuals were prevented from illegally crossing the Latvia–Belarus border, while 26 people were admitted for humanitarian reasons.
In December, the Latvian government extended the enhanced border security regime in the Belarus border region until the 30th of June 2025. This decision was made due to the increased influx of illegal migrants facilitated by Belarus. The previous decision had set the enhanced regime in place until the end of 2024.
The enhanced control regime applies to the Ludza municipality and its parishes, Krāslava municipality, Augšdaugava municipality, Daugavpils, and the Kaunata parish of Rēzekne municipality