35 of the immigrants who have entered Latvia have already returned or will return to their countries of residence, the Deputy Head of the State Border Guard Ivars Ruskulis admitted to the Saeima’s Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Commission on Wednesday.
Some of the persons who have entered Latvia so far have applied for asylum status, but deportation proceedings have been initiated against some of them. 35 people have expressed a wish to return to their home countries, 25 of whom have already left and ten more.
Ruskulis also reminded that on average per day the State Border Guard prevents 20-25 people from trying to cross the Latvian-Belarusian border illegally.
In Latvia, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) decides on granting asylum. At this institution, LETA found that there were currently around 200 asylum cases pending.
This year, until October 31, 24 persons have been granted alternative status, and 65 persons have been granted refugee status. These statuses are most often granted to citizens of Belarus and Afghanistan. LETA has already written that even before the crisis of illegal immigration that began in the summer, dozens of Belarusian citizens applied for asylum at the border.
Currently, 152 people are accommodated in the asylum seeker accommodation center “Mucenieki” managed by the OCMA. At present, the capacity of “Mucenieki” is more than sufficient, as usually “Mucenieki” can accommodate up to 400 people.
Life and everyday life in “Mucenieki” is currently going smoothly and without incidents.
It has already been reported that 68 people have not been barred from crossing the border since the introduction of the state of emergency on humanitarian grounds, and a total of 420 third-country nationals have been detained illegally this year.
Taking into account the increased pressure of illegal immigration, the Latvian government has declared a state of emergency in Ludza, Krāslava and Augšdaugava counties, as well as in Daugavpils. In the summer, the government announced it from August 11 to November 10, but later extended it to February 10.-
As part of an extensive hybrid attack on the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, attempts have been made in recent months to send thousands of illegal immigrants from Belarus to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, most of whom have arrived in Belarus as tourists from Iraq.
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