Turkish authorities have caught 144 irregular migrants that entered the country illegally in inspections across 27 metropolitan cities, and another 24 in northwestern Edirne province bordering Greece.
Some 96 mobile migration checkpoints conducted 8,322 identity card checks and detected 144 irregular migrants, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
“The migrants have been transferred to deportation centers,” he added.
In Edirne, 24 foreign nationals, including from Afghanistan and Syria, were detained as part of operations to prevent irregular migration, the city’s security forces said.
All 24 have been transferred to the provincial migration directorate, they added.
Irregular migration thrived in the past two decades in Türkiye, which sits between Asia and Europe, amid escalating conflicts, poverty and other challenges plaguing the home countries of migrants.
Türkiye has caught over 1.1 million irregular migrants within its borders since 2020, according to official figures from the Interior Ministry. The largest number of irregular migrants in the past five years were Afghan nationals, followed by Syrians, data has shown.
Migrant flow is not exclusive to Asian and Middle Eastern countries and irregular migrants from African countries also prefer Türkiye as a destination to reach Europe in some cases.
Figures reveal an upward trajectory in irregular arrivals in Türkiye from 2020 to 2023 before dropping significantly in 2024. Authorities caught 122,302 migrants in 2020, 162,996 in 2021, 285,027 in 2022, 254,008 in 2023 and 175,786 in 2024.
Türkiye has also expanded its crackdown on migrant smuggling, capturing 31,931 smugglers between 2020 and 2023. Between Jan. 1, 2024, and Oct. 10, 2024, some 9,761 smugglers were detained nationwide.
Türkiye boosted security in its land borders while coast guard patrols were increased amid the influx, especially in the Aegean Sea, where Türkiye and migrants’ main gateway to Europe Greece are littoral.
Over the past five years, 105,437 migrants were intercepted in Turkish seas and rescued by the Coast Guard Command as they headed into rough seas that claimed many lives over the years. Last year alone, 23,330 people were rescued, while 41 bodies of drowned migrants were recovered. Eleven people are still missing at sea, according to statistics regarding 2024.
Figures showcase that irregular migration requiring search and rescue at sea peaked in 2015. In 1,540 cases, Turkish authorities rescued 58,570 people and recovered the bodies of 263 migrants that year, while 201 people were reported missing.
