Pressure on Latvian-Belarusian border rises with warmer weather

In the last three days, 179 people have illegally tried to cross the Latvian-Belarusian border, the State Border Guard told LETA on 14 April.

According to the Border Guard, it had been predicted that the flow of illegal immigration would resume with the onset of warmer weather. At the same time, supporters of illegal border crossing have also become more active.

This year, 877 people have been stopped from crossing the border illegally. Seven people have been admitted on humanitarian grounds.

As of 19 March, Latvia’s border crossing points with Russia and Belarus “Pāternieki”, “Grebņeva” and “Terehova” can be crossed only by cars. The government took this decision after a request from the State Border Guard.

The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) explained that the partial closure of the border crossing points is necessary due to the current geopolitical situation in the context of the Russian hostilities in Ukraine.

Last year, 5388 people were stopped from crossing the Latvian-Belarusian border illegally, while 26 people were admitted on humanitarian grounds.

Last December, the government extended the reinforced border protection regime at the Belarusian border until 30 June 2025. The reinforced border surveillance regime was imposed due to the increased flow of illegal migrants from Belarus. The government had previously decided to maintain the regime on the Belarusian border until the end of 2024.