This is significantly less than Polish media speculation that Germany could return up to 40,000 illegal immigrants to Poland.
Migrants were thus sent to Poland from January to the end of September in accordance with agreements on the return of migrants and the so-called Dublin regulations of the European Union (EU), according to the data released by the Polish border guard. On the other hand, according to the data of the German government, 1,922 illegal immigrants were sent back to Poland.
Last year, when the number of asylum applications in Germany reached a seven-year high, Berlin submitted 74,622 requests to other EU member states to take back illegal immigrants under the Dublin rules. Of these, 55,728 were accepted.
The Polish Border Guard “systematically cooperates with the German police, conducting joint patrols, maintaining joint posts and exchanging information through the Polish-German Border, Police and Customs Cooperation Center, stated the press representative of the Polish Border Guard.
Referring to the data of the German police, the newspaper “Die Welt” previously reported that from October 2023 to the end of August 2024, more than 10,000 cases of unauthorized entry were found during checks on the Brandenburg border with Poland, and 5,100 people were turned back at the border. When asked about these data, the press representative of the Polish Border Guard said that the Polish Border Guard does not carry out border control on the internal borders of the Schengen area, including on the border between Poland and Germany.
Since the German government introduced border controls with Poland, the media has reported cases of German police taking illegal immigrants to Poland and leaving them on the side of the neighboring country.
The Interia news website, citing sources in the Polish Foreign Ministry, reported on October 17 that Germany could send up to 40,000 migrants back to Poland. A spokesman for the ministry said it was only speculation about what might happen if Berlin used all available mechanisms. However, “no mechanism has ever been used to its full extent,” he added.
Germany introduced border controls with all of its neighbors last month, drawing criticism from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who called it a “de facto suspension of the Schengen area.”
Berlin has made clear changes in its migration policy, which, among other things, has been influenced by the domestic political situation, “where those who criticize [Vācijas valdības] migration policy is gaining more and more popularity,” said the press representative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We also have our own policy, and as you can see, this policy is also a strict policy both in matters of border protection and sometimes in relations with neighboring countries,” he emphasized.
Poland’s government last week adopted a new migration strategy that has split the ruling coalition as it plans to temporarily suspend asylum rights for migrants illegally crossing the border with Belarus.