Federal police stop smuggling: migrants arrested at the border!

Federal police stop smuggling: migrants arrested at the border!

On June 27, 2025, the federal police in Lindau placed two migrants in detention pending refoulement. These are a Turkish and a Tunisian national who tried to enter Germany without permission. The Tunisian was already known to the German authorities, while the other migrant did not yet appear in their data. These events are in the context of stricter border controls that have been carried out at all German national borders since September 2024.

On Wednesday night, a car with a Berlin registration was stopped at the Hörbranz border crossing (BAB 96). The vehicle was occupied by three Turkish passengers: a 31-year-old driver, a 59-year-old passenger and a 30-year-old passenger. The driver and the passenger had a valid residence permit or settlement permit in Germany. The 30-year-old initially only showed his Turkish driving license, but was later able to present a passport, but did not have a residence permit.

Smuggling and rejection

The 30-year-old was smuggled to Austria via Bosnia-Herzegovina by unknown persons in exchange for payment. His father, the 59-year-old passenger, had organized the pickup of his son and both were reported for aiding and abetting attempted unauthorized entry. The federal police secured the father and son's cell phones. While these two alleged assistants were able to continue traveling, the 30-year-old was reported for attempting to enter the country without permission and was also brought before the Lindau district court.

In addition, a 24-year-old Tunisian was checked at the Lindau-Reutin train station. He showed a photo of an expired German toleration and turned out to be legally obliged to leave the country. His asylum application had already been rejected in February 2024, and the procedure was finalized in September 2024. The Tunisian is now also being reported for attempting to enter the country without permission and has been taken to the Eichstätt deportation detention center.

Increasing controls and statistics

The system behind these controls is part of a comprehensive strategy by the German government to combat unauthorized entries. Since September 2024, 22,243 unauthorized entries have been detected in just 140 days, and 13,786 people without the necessary documents have been turned away or deported. A total of 365,891 unauthorized entries have been recorded since 2021, with a decrease recorded to 5,147 entries in January 2025 compared to 6,906 in January 2024. This shows the efforts to limit unauthorized migration.

The expanded border controls, which have been strengthened since the beginning of last week, also require support from other units. Over 1,000 riot police officers were deployed to the border to provide support. The German Union faction in the Bundestag is calling for comprehensive rejections, including of asylum seekers. According to reports, there have already been traffic jams of up to 25 minutes for commuters and suppliers.

Current measures aim to reduce irregular migration and increase border security. The decisions to extend these controls, notified until March 2025, will be taken next February.