In the first nine months of this year, the Federal Police registered 53,410 unauthorized entries at German borders. According to "Bild am Sonntag", the most people were turned back at the borders with Switzerland.
28,321 people were turned back at the land borders, as the Federal Police confirmed on request. 1195 smugglers were arrested and 1088 smuggling operations were registered. Checks at airports and seaports are not included. From January to September inclusive, officers apprehended a total of 7783 people for whom outstanding arrest warrants were executed.
Most people turned back at the Swiss border
According to "Bild am Sonntag", the highest number of deportations occurred at the borders with Switzerland (9113 people), Poland (7862), Austria (5468) and the French border (2350). Ukrainians (5935 people), Syrians (4708) and Afghans (2396) were the most frequently turned away. Officials identified 1482 deported migrants who wanted to re-enter the country despite being blocked.
The police speak of unauthorized entry when a foreigner wants to cross the border without a valid residence permit. Refoulement is primarily possible if someone does not apply for asylum or if the person concerned is subject to a temporary ban on re-entry.
Controls at all land borders
Border controls are not actually planned in the Schengen area. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser justified the imposition of stationary controls at all land borders from mid-September on the grounds of irregular migration and protection against Islamist terrorists and cross-border crime.
The borders with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg were affected by the expansion. Checks had already been carried out at the border with France due to the Olympic Games in Paris.
Checks have been in place at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since mid-October last year, and were introduced at the German-Austrian land border in the fall of 2015.