Posted on Nov 3, 2023
Germany: Illegal migration rise prompts border crackdown
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Armed police officers wave cars off the motorway going from Poland to Germany.
They're searching for people-smugglers and their desperate cargo.
This is the German government's latest bid to show it is getting a grip on rising levels of irregular migration.
But, as we found in a rural border district, there's little sense of control.
Altenberg is a small town in Saxony, right by the Czech Republic.
Families race down a toboggan run that weaves through the forest and, when winter's here, there's even a small ski resort.
The local mayor, Markus Wiesenberg, says that - in this area alone - smugglers drop off people as often as once a day.
"The trafficker disappears and probably picks up the next load."
New arrivals put a strain on local services, he says, as well as local people.
"Sometimes they find sleeping bags and campfires in the woods and they are worried for their children."
Migration is looming large in the national debate after the far right is seen to have capitalized on the issue, fuelling recent gains in regional elections.
Ministers ordered "temporary" checks last month on Germany's land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
They're searching for people-smugglers and their desperate cargo.
This is the German government's latest bid to show it is getting a grip on rising levels of irregular migration.
But, as we found in a rural border district, there's little sense of control.
Altenberg is a small town in Saxony, right by the Czech Republic.
Families race down a toboggan run that weaves through the forest and, when winter's here, there's even a small ski resort.
The local mayor, Markus Wiesenberg, says that - in this area alone - smugglers drop off people as often as once a day.
"The trafficker disappears and probably picks up the next load."
New arrivals put a strain on local services, he says, as well as local people.
"Sometimes they find sleeping bags and campfires in the woods and they are worried for their children."
Migration is looming large in the national debate after the far right is seen to have capitalized on the issue, fuelling recent gains in regional elections.
Ministers ordered "temporary" checks last month on Germany's land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Germany: Illegal migration rise prompts border crackdown
Posted from bbc.com
Germany
Immigration
Refugees
Poland
Czech Republic
Posted 6 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Mayor Markus Wiesenberg, who's a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, says there is a perception that the federal government is failing.
All the while, the rise in irregular migration appears to feed gains by the far right as elected leaders are accused of ducking the debate.
"It seems we didn't learn the lesson of 2015," he says - referring to the apogee of Europe's migration crisis.
"We are as unprepared as then.""
..."Mayor Markus Wiesenberg, who's a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, says there is a perception that the federal government is failing.
All the while, the rise in irregular migration appears to feed gains by the far right as elected leaders are accused of ducking the debate.
"It seems we didn't learn the lesson of 2015," he says - referring to the apogee of Europe's migration crisis.
"We are as unprepared as then.""
(5)
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