Police detected 13 percent fewer illegal border crossings into Germany in the first three weeks after the start of permanent border checks compared to the three weeks before, according to preliminary official figures released on Thursday.
Between September 16 and October 6, police encountered a total of 3,464 foreigners trying to enter without permission at land borders, according to Federal Police figures obtained by dpa.
Of these, 2,073 were turned back at the border. Between August 26 and September 15, there were 3,984 unauthorized entries and a total of 2,353 were rejected.
The figures came after a parliamentary inquiry was submitted by far-left Die Linke (The Left) MP Clara Bünger.
The Federal Police have been carrying out checks at Germany’s land borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark since September 16.
Random checks at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland have been in place since mid-October 2023, and at the German-Austrian border they were introduced in autumn 2015. However, not all passengers are checked.
