site.btaIllegal Migration Reached Critical Levels in 2013 - Analysis

Illegal Migration Reached Critical Levels in 2013 - Analysis

Sofia, November 12 (BTA) - Between January and October 2014, the
Migration Directorate at the Chief Directorate Border Police of
the Interior Ministry issued permanent residence permits for
Bulgaria to 2,620 persons and durable residence permits (valid
for up to one year) to 20,192 persons, according to information
from the Migration Directorate made available to BTA.

The comparable figures for the full year 2013 were 2,753 and
20,121, respectively.

In 2013, an average monthly 50 illegal migrants were detected
entering Greece from Turkey across the land border (according to
data of the Frontex Agency), while the number of illegal
crossers of the border between Bulgaria and Turkey increased
gradually. The number of illegals detained at the Bulgarian
border peaked at 3,657 in October 2013, according to an illegal
migration risk analysis published recently by the Chief
Directorate Border Police.

The analysis shows that attempts to cross illegally into
Bulgaria soared in 2013 to 14,637, more than sextuple the cases
detected in 2012.

For the first time since Bulgaria joined the EU six years ago,
illegal migration reached critical levels, impacting adversely
the border authorities, the social sphere and public opinion and
posing new challenges to coping with the problem, the experts
noted.

In 2013, illegal aliens entered this country mainly across the
green border, hiding on board motor vehicles that use the
checkpoints, or using false documents. In isolated cases,
illegals tried to evade border checks by declaring that they did
not carry identity documents on them.

Pressure on the Bulgarian-Turkish border started to tend up in
August 2012, steadied until August 2013, and then rose steeply
until it peaked at 3,690 detainees in October 2013 (an average
123 daily).

No illegal entry attempts had been detected across Bulgaria's
sea border in recent years, but in 2013 that border, too, came
under migration pressure from Turkey. The Romanian and Turkish
authorities detained a total of 151 migrants in their
territorial waters, and a boat carrying 24 illegal immigrants
from Afghanistan was detained some 2 nautical miles east of Cape
Shabla (on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast) in October 2013.
These cases indicate that Turkish people smugglers are trying to
put into operation a new route for illegal migration from
Turkey to the EU via the Black Sea, according to the analysis.
The number of incoming Africans has increased substantially,
especially those from Algeria (495, compared to 91 in 2012) and
Mali (329 and 86, respectively).

Over the last couple of years, the Eastern Mediterranean route
has emerged as one of the most frequently used itineraries. The
Frontex Agency found that illegal crossing detections follow a
seasonal pattern, invariably peaking during the third quarter of
each year and concentrating along the EU border with Turkey.
Migrants continue to converge on Istanbul, where human
trafficking networks offer them several options to enter the EU,
depending on which they can afford. One option is overland
across the Meric (Evros) River into Greece, but this is losing
popularity now that, under amended local legislation, if caught
migrants risk remaining in custody for six months and being
prevented from leaving Greece. Another route leads across
Turkey's land border into Bulgaria. A third choice is to travel
by sea, from Turkey's western coast to Greece's eastern Aegean
islands or straight to Italy.

Being part of the Eastern Mediterranean route, Greece and
Bulgaria are transit countries rather than destinations for most
of migrants, who usually proceed overland via the Western
Balkans or, using false documents, fly to Western Europe.