SBGS: there are no more places in the Foreigners Registration Center, flows have multiplied by 4

According to the head of government, the government will provide additional funds for the protection of the state border; As previously announced, a total of € 38 million would be needed over several years.

“Additional funds will be provided. (…) The budget technically returned to the Government yesterday, then the Government will present a revised draft budget to Seimas next week for adoption on June 22, and additional funds will be provided there,” said I. Šimonytė at a press conference held on Wednesday after the Government meeting.

The National Security Commission met Monday over border tensions.

“Part of the additional funds has already been provided by the Ministry of the Interior through the reallocation of its internal allocations. It has also been evaluated what can be realistically done over the years with very fast work, for which they will provide additional funds. There is some consensus on actions in the international arena, “Prime Minister I. Šimonytė said.

SBGS: accommodation is filled at the Foreigners Registration Center

According to Colonel Vidas Mačaitis, deputy commander of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) in Delfi, last night six Iraqi citizens were detained at the Ignalina district border: four adults, two women and two men, and two children.

“We are seeing a very marked increase in the flow of illegal immigrants since May 25. If we had 80 illegal immigrants detained all last year, it was about 40 in 2019, and we have about 300 this year. Trends show that the number It has practically quadrupled, ”said the official.

Already now, according to V. Mačaitis, all the accommodation places for illegal immigrants in the Alien Registration Center in Pabradė are occupied. It is planned to transfer the visitors.

“We plan to move them from our units, which are on the border, to the dormitory at the Border Guard School. That would be around 35-40 more people. To date, there are 176 foreigners in the registration center and 41 in the units It is true that four Belarusian citizens have the opportunity to choose where to live, “said the colonel.

When asked if a military city could be used, V. Mačaitis said the exact date is not yet known, as flows are being monitored, but preparations are underway.

“There are already discussions about logistical support, we are already preparing, we are deciding with the military how to do it, because if we take more than half of the places in the Border Guard School, we will no longer have a place. Unless they are placed in other firewalls ”, commented the deputy commander of the SBGS.

Such a city would be located near the Foreign Migration Center in Pabradė.

“We have already started the logistical and preparatory work, now we are coordinating technical issues with the military, where they could come from and start working. The processes continue ”, emphasized V. Mačaitis.

Few illegal immigrants go alone

According to the SBGS representative, the number of illegal immigrants leaving the Alien Registration Center independently is not high.

“We have only seven Iraqi nationals who left last week, who sadly we haven’t stopped anywhere yet and no one has returned them yet, but I think it is only a matter of time before they are returned from a state.” Since most of the families go and apply for asylum, the families remain in Lithuania, ”said the colonel.

According to V. Mačaitis, next week the commander of the SBGS, Rustamas Liubajevas, will meet with the leadership of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex. In mid-July, its officials will join the country’s border guards on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.

“Now I am on board, our sailors are leaving for a weekend for four months to help the Italians with a boat to protect the state border. It is such a reciprocal exchange, and we are going elsewhere: the helicopters in Greece help to protect the Greek-Turkish border, ”explained V. Mačaitis.

Several authorities verify the identity of the newcomers

Most of the newcomers do not have any identity documents, so their verification, as the SBGS deputy commander said, requires time and resources from other institutions. However, there is no information that the illegal migrants themselves are involved in the criminal world.

“It just came to our attention then. It is difficult to verify, many do not even have identity documents, but all the time here we work not only alone, colleagues from the Department of State Security, representatives of the Second Department of Operational Services of the Ministry of Defense National. There is close cooperation. We still do not see such threats, but we do not rule out the possibility that this is the case, “said V. Mačaitis.

It also echoed earlier thoughts that migrant smuggling is likely linked to organized crime.

“We have never had such flows – 110 arrived in one week only, that is, after May 25, it has not been with us.” This is likely related. “Yesterday we received information from the top leaders of the Belarusian border guards that they do not see any violations, they do not register, although when we detained the Belarusian citizens, they reacted immediately and asked for their return,” added the official.

Kasčiūnas will consult with other countries: maybe something can also be applied in Lithuania

Laurynas Kasčiūnas Delfi, chairman of the Seimas Defense and National Security Committee (NSGC), said that some 400 people could be accommodated in the army logistics unit in Pabradė, and that there would already be 800 such places in total.

“Then we would move towards the need to cooperate with the municipalities if all the places were filled. Perhaps it is not, it is difficult to say, but it is necessary to prepare, to have plans ”, said the parliamentarian.

He assured that the criminal situation in the country has not yet changed and that the flows of illegal migrants do not affect him.

“It just came to our knowledge then. This only confirms that the criminogenic situation does not change in any way, everyone is detained, housed and the procedures are started,” said L. Kasčiūnas.

The NSGC president plans to speak with leaders from other EU countries to share his experiences in addressing the challenges of illegal immigrants.

“I plan to get in touch with a Danish colleague to see how they are behaving now and how they were behaving during the migration crisis; perhaps good examples and practices could also be implemented in Lithuania,” added L. Kasčiūnas.