Since the introduction of stricter controls following the new federal government's inauguration, 9,506 people have been turned back at Germany's borders. As the Federal Police announced on Friday, 12,445 unauthorized entries were registered between May 8 and July 31.
On May 7, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) ordered increased controls and rejections at all nine German land borders with neighboring countries. Exempt from this are so-called vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.
According to the Federal Police, of the 9,506 rejected applicants, 474 were prevented from crossing the border because they had entered from a safe third country. In one case, a danger to the public in connection with a conviction in Germany for a particularly serious crime was the reason for the rejection. Re-entry bans were issued for 418 people. 110 people from vulnerable groups had applied for asylum.
In connection with the tightened controls since May, 450 smugglers have also been provisionally arrested, according to the Federal Police. "As a bycatch, 2,220 people were arrested with outstanding arrest warrants," it added. In addition, 366 people "from the left-wing, right-wing, foreign extremist, or Islamist spectrum" were identified.
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