Over 5.800 illegal immigrants were caught in the Western Balkans only during the month of January, trying to cross the border into countries of the European Union.
This number is 148% higher than the same period last year.
The majority of these illegal migrants came from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) announced that in January 2022, a total of 13 000 illegal immigrants were found outside the borders of the European Union.
This number also marked a 78% rise, compared to January 2021.
The overall number of illegal border crossings during 2021 reached around 200 thousand, which was the highest number of illegal crossings since 2017.
Back in 2021, a total of 19 thousand illegal immigrants were caught in Albania 46% of whom were repeat offenders, meaning that they had already tried – at least once – to cross into the EU from our country.
Only 66 of them were able to receive refugee status and apply for asylum, whereas the remaining majority were issued an order of voluntary departure by the Directory of Border Police and Migration.
On the most part, migrants caught in our country are originally from nations in the Middle East.
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