Detained migrants in Czech Republic down in first semester

Police officers in the Czech Republic detained 139 people during transit migration in the first half of this year — 660 fewer than in the same period last year, Josef Urban, spokesman for the Immigration Police, was quoted as saying on the Czech police website.

Most of those held were nationals from Syria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Turkey who were trying to reach other EU countries via the Czech Republic, the spokesman said. He added that police caught four migrant smugglers between January and the end of June, Czech news agency CTK reports.

Also read: Czech Republic extends temporary border checks with Slovakia as EU tries to clamp down on smugglers

Most of those held were planning to travel to Germany

“The destination of persons apprehended while in illegal transit is most often Germany, and in some cases other Western European countries,” Urban said.

The Czech Republic became a country of transit for the journeys of mainly Syrian migrants in 2022.

In the first half of that year, police detained 905 foreigners while trying to cross the country, a significant increase compared to previous years.

The government temporarily reinstated checks at the border with Slovakia because of this.

The number of persons detained during transit migration fell to 799 in the first six months of last year.

Also read: Migrants ‘dying without a trace’ on the Balkan route

Most of those apprehended by police hail from Syria

Syrians continue to be the predominant group among the migrants apprehended. Between January and the end of June, police detained 87 Syrian nationals. The others included 10 Ethiopians and nine Afghans.

“In terms of entry by country, the predominant direction was from Slovakia. In almost all cases, the persons chose to arrive from Greece by internal Schengen flights and in the vast majority of cases they presented false documents,” the police said.

According to the police, the decline in transit migration through Czechia is due not only to ongoing preventive measures throughout the country, but also to measures taken by neighboring countries and, in particular, to the reduction of migration pressure along the entire Western Balkan route.

The Interior Ministry has previously stated that these include the measures introduced by the Serbs on the border with Hungary, checks in the Czech Republic and neighboring countries, and measures on the German-Czech border.

Police officers throughout 2023 detected some 14,000 migrants in Czechia who were staying in the country illegally. Compared to 2022, the number decreased by more than 15,000, or 52.4 percent.

The fall was mainly due to the lower number of refugees trying to reach other EU countries via the Czech Republic.

According to the report, migrants detained while in transit accounted for 34 percent of the foreigners held by the police. A year earlier, it was nearly 75 percent.

Also read: Migration routes to EU shift, as arrival numbers down 12%