Border controls in Lower Saxony: 1,378 Unauthorized entry discovered!

Border controls in Lower Saxony: 1,378 Unauthorized entry discovered!

Osnabrück, Deutschland - The situation on the German borders remains tense: since September 16, 2024, the federal police in Lower Saxony have been conducting systematic border controls. By June 30, 2025, 1,378 unauthorized entry or attempts to enter could be found. This reports ndr . In over 900 cases, people were rejected directly on the border.

These figures are part of a larger trend: nationwide, the federal police registered around 42,500 unauthorized entry in the same period. The controls took place not only in Lower Saxony, but also at the borders to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark. In this context, 56 smugglers were arrested and 362 open arrest warrants were carried out.

criticism of the border controls

But there are also critical voices on the measures. The police union (GdP) emphasizes that the effort of the controls is not in relation to the results. A considerable cost and personnel expenditure with around 2.8 million overtime has been incurred since the start of the controls. At the same time, the organization Pro Asyl is counteracting the legal basis of these border controls and criticizes the flat-rate rejection of asylum seekers who, in their view, violate EU law. In many cases there is no regular asylum procedure that offers asylum seekers a fair chance of clarifying their status.

decline in unauthorized entry

Despite these massive controls, there seems to have been a decline in the unauthorized entry. In January 2025, only 5,147 entries were found - compared to 6906 in January 2024 and 7.588 in January 2023. This could indicate the effective controls and the increased deterrence through the presence of the federal police. Throughout 2024, according to Tagesschau unauthorized entry, which has been determined in comparison to the previous years represent.

The controls cannot be measured easily: the numbers of the unauthorized entry and arrests can change through subsequent cakes. According to the Zeit , 53.410 were already rejected in the first nine months of 2023 and 28,321 people were rejected.

The question remains how the situation on the German boundaries will develop. The current measures are clearly geared towards a restriction of irregular migration. But whether this control is the right way to find a balance between security and humanitarian responsibility remains a debated topic among political core, authorities and civil society.