Nearly 200 illegal immigrants have been detained on the Latvian-Belarusian border in the past 24 hours, including 65 overnight, the BNS news agency quoted Latvian State Border Guard Commander Guntis Pujats as saying on Latvian television’s Rita Panorama program.
Migrant accommodation centers are practically overwhelmed, and the trespassers will have to stay in tents, Pujats said. At first, tent cities will be set up near border infrastructure elements. They may be moved to other places later, as the government approves the involvement of self-government bodies and the Latvian Armed Forces in settling the crisis, he said.
Immigrants are arriving from Belarus in large groups, which proves the process is organized, Pujats said, adding that groups can consist of 30 persons or more. Many refugees do not realize they have arrived in Latvia, as they were headed to Germany. There are plenty of young men and women with children among the border trespassers, he said.
Later on Tuesday, the Lithuanian government plans to declare an emergency on the Latvian-Belarusian border and to broaden the abilities of border guards to send the immigrants back to Belarus.
“The rights and powers to be delegated to border guards depend on the government’s decision. The State Border Guard has described its needs as more active countering of border violators,” Pujats said.
According to BNS, 218 persons have been detained for illegally crossing the Latvian-Belarusian border over the past four days, which is seven times more than the overall number of border violators detained in 2020.
