Germany's Federal Police registered the lowest number of unauthorised border entries in five years this June, with 3,290 people attempting to cross into the country without valid papers. This marked a 42% decline compared to the same month last year, the agency announced on Monday in Potsdam.
Just over 2,000 people were turned away while trying to cross the border illegally. In addition, 152 suspected people smugglers were taken into custody, according to the Federal Police.
In the first half of 2026, the Federal Police recorded 24,329 unauthorised entries in total. This was 6,856 fewer, or 22%, than in the same period the previous year. The lowest monthly figure of recent years was recorded in May 2021, when 2,916 unauthorised entries were logged, the Federal Police noted.
Germany has carried out checks at all of its land borders with its nine neighbouring countries since September 2024. In the years before that, such controls had already been introduced at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland due to the migration situation.
When the black-red (CDU/CSU-SPD) government took office in May 2025, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) ordered stepped-up rejections at the border. Since then, according to the Federal Police, 38,804 people have been turned away. In addition, since May 2025, 2,002 people have been prevented from crossing the border due to a re-entry ban.
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