German police report significant rise in illegal migration in 2023

The number of people suspected of illegally migrating to Germany increased significantly in 2023, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said on Wednesday, reported dpa.

Police suspected 266,224 people of unauthorized entry and residence in 2023, an increase of 33.4% compared to the previous year, the BKA said.

Most of the suspects were apprehended by German federal police.

In total, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency recorded around 380,200 unauthorized border crossings across the external borders of the 29-country Schengen visa-free travel area, which includes Germany, according to the BKA.

That is the highest annual figure since 2016.

The main countries of origin for the suspects in Germany were Syria (54,207 people), Turkey (35,732 people) and Afghanistan (35,370 people).

The BKA alleged that many of them were assisted in their flight by smugglers and, for instance, travelled part of the way to Germany in vans.

"The smuggling groups were increasingly risk-taking and reckless towards the smuggled people, uninvolved third parties and deployed police forces in order to evade control and thus prosecution," the BKA said in a statement.