The Migrant Pressure on Bulgaria Intensifies: 1.6 times Increase in the Number of People Caught

16,767 migrants were detained in Bulgaria in 2022, which is almost 6,000 more than in the previous year, 2021, when the number of arrests was 10,799. This is another testimony to the increased migrant pressure in the last one year, according to Interior Ministry statistics.

The fourth caretaker government of President Rumen Radev took office on August 2, 2022, and since then has been constantly criticized for its failure to deal with the huge wave of migrants who are caught inside the country on an almost daily basis.

The data of the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs show that in August 2022 a total of 2,288 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 458 were on entry, 325 were on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 1,505 were found to be illegally staying in the interior of the country. Their number is 2.3 times more compared to the previous month (997 persons). In the month of August last year, an extremely serious incident happened. Two policemen died in Burgas after a bus with migrants hit the police patrol car. What became clear at the time was that the driver of the bus disobeyed a stop baton signal by law enforcement officers and began a pursuit. A police patrol tried to block the bus driver, who lost control and swept both the police car and two kiosks. The bus was carrying 47 migrants - men, women and children. Subsequently, Acting Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stated that over 300 people would be sent to guard our borders and drones would be used to reduce the migrant wave.

In September, 2,822 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 563 were on entry, 381 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs...