Slovenia saw an increase in migrant and refugee arrivals in 2022. More than 32,000 people crossed into the country irregularly last year, according to national police. That's three times as many as in 2021.
The migrants, who were mostly from Afghanistan, India, Burundi and Nepal, will face proceedings for attempting to illegally cross the border after leaving asylum centers in Slovenia.
Slovenian police have detained a Syrian national, alleged to have transported 17 migrants using irregular means. The foreign minister meanwhile announced that Slovenia would start to tear down a razor wire fortification on its border with Croatia.
Slovenia has announced that it will be taking down its border fence on the Croatian border by the end of the year. The Interior Ministry confirmed the plan to the news agency STA.
The European Union and its border agency Frontex are using increasing amounts of technology to monitor migration at external and internal borders across Europe. Experts say that tracking technology is often being deployed to evade legal responsibilities.
Several Italian migrant rights organizations have organized a 'walk of hope' in Italy from the Slovenian to the French border to raise awareness for the many challenges migrants and refugees face.
The body of a 10-year-old Turkish girl was recovered from the Dragonja River between Slovenia and Croatia on Saturday. She had been swept away while her family had been trying to cross the swollen river.
The body of a migrant from Bangladesh has been found in Slovenia near the border with Croatia. Police say it is the first such death in this part of the border region.
The 2021 Immigration Report by the IDOS research center noted that, between January and mid-November 2020, "Italy sent back 1,240 migrants and asylum seekers to Slovenia" as part of readmission agreements.
Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa has said that not only his own country but also the EU as a whole will not be opening humanitarian corridors for Afghan refugees. His comments sparked polemics among the Italian Democratic Party and left wing in general.
Italy and Slovenia have reached an understanding to continue joint patrols at their border, according to the Trieste police commissioner. League politicians praised these plans.
Police and border forces from North Macedonia and Slovenia conducted two operations on Friday in which they found a total of 82 migrants hidden in various vehicles.