[...] since the six migrants — four Afghans, one Syrian and one Sudanese — have been in prison for a month awaiting their trial, they were freed Monday, prosecutor Jean-Pierre Valensi told The Associated Press by phone after the trial in Boulogne-Sur-Mer. According to police statistics, 501 people were caught between Friday and Sunday, including 237 on Sunday, the highest one-day figure so far in 2016. The breaches of Hungary's fence protected by razor wire have increased as other countries along the migrant route through the Balkans have tightened controls and set limits on the number and nationalities of migrants and refugees they will allow to enter. The European Union's police organization has launched a new unit dedicated to tackling migrant smuggling as part of the 28-nation bloc's efforts to stem the flow of people pouring into the continent as they flee conflict and poverty. According to a Europol report, criminal networks involved in people smuggling had an estimated turnover last year of 3-6 billion euros ($3.3-6.6 billion), as more than 1 million migrants arrived last year. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. Ioannis Mouzalas, a deputy minister for migration said the European Union was failing to deal with unilateral actions and an "outburst of scare-mongering" from individual member states. Police said about 2,000 people were stranded at the border camps near the Greek border town of Idomeni, including some 600 Afghans who staged a peaceful protest, holding up Afghan flags and hand-written banners.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com |
