The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has called on Hungary to withdraw a new law that will see asylum seekers turned away at the border. The agency says the act could breach international and European laws.
Hungarian border guards on the country’s southern border with Serbia fired warning shots when about 60 migrants tried to force their way through a checkpoint on Tuesday morning. Police said no one was injured, but migrants claimed excessive force was used.
Two tunnels were found in Hungary that were used by migrants to cross into the country from Serbia.
Asurma Arab fled Afghanistan to seek safety in Europe with her family. Over two years later she remains stranded in Serbia, her family torn apart. On the last attempt to cross the border, her husband and oldest daughter managed to get past Croatian guards, leaving Asurma and three younger children behind.
Hungary's refugee and migrant policies have been in breach of international human rights conventions as well as EU regulation for years. Along the country's border with Serbia there's now a new, underreported trend affecting migrants: deliberate starvation.
New statistics show that Hungary, led by right-wing Premier Viktor Orban, is granting work permits to a growing number of foreigners. Experts say this dichotomy amid the government's anti-immigration propaganda leaves some Hungarians disoriented.
Two Afghan families were forced to leave Hungary and return to Serbia this week after their asylum claims were rejected. The chief of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has spoken out about the expulsion of the Afghans - among them a pregnant woman - calling it "a serious violation of international law."
The leader of the National Rally party in France, Marine Le Pen, was in Brussels on Sunday to support the far-right Flemish party Vlaams Belang. At the same time, she extended her hand towards Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party and Poland’s PiS (Law and Justice) party. Is a block of anti-migrant parties growing in Europe?
Italy’s deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was in Budapest on Thursday to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The two leaders discussed how to forge a common European pact to combat migration on the continent and succeed in the European elections.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised Serbia for having accepted a border barrier between the two countries. The Hungarian government erected the barrier to stem the continual flow of unauthorized migrants into Hungary, and Orban said Serbia also benefits.
"The global assault on NGOs has reached a crisis point," human rights organization Amnesty International claims. The organisation criticizes Hungary in particular; they believe the Orban government is harassing organizations that support migrants and refugees.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has said Viktor Orban's political party does not belong in his center-right EPP group. Orban's party has accused Juncker and the EU of purposely weakening Hungary's borders.