Prague, July 23 (CTK) – The Czech foreigner police detain 20 to 50 illegal immigrants daily, which requires the raising of the number of detention facilities since there would be no capacities for them, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) said in the Senate yesterday.
Sobotka spoke within a two-hour debate about the conclusions of the EU summit on migration at the end of June.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (CSSD) said a week ago the influx of immigrants has been mounting. He said the police detained 15 of them daily after the police tightened security measures earlier this summer. On Wednesday last week, however, 50 immigrants were detained and on Thursday around 30.
Sobotka said the Czech Republic has the right to ask for the return of those refugees who demonstrably entered the Schengen area in another member EU country or applied for asylum in another member country to their country of origin.
If we did not place these people in a detention facility of the Interior Ministry and sent them to a family that would offer them shelter, they would not be here any more on the next day, Sobotka said.
They would continue their trip to other countries such as Germany or Sweden, he said.
“It is clear that we need detention facilities of the Interior Ministry,” Sobotka said, adding that their capacity is low and some where even closed in the past. That is why the capacity must be raised.
The government wants to open a new detention facility in Balkova, west Bohemia. Another facility is to be opened in Vysni Lhoty, north Moravia, in October.
The government has approved the plan to accept 1500 refugees by end-2017. This year, there should be 400 of them, next year 700 and in 2017 around 400 should be accepted.
The Czech Republic is to take over around 1100 people from Italy and Greece and 400 from Middle East camps.
Sobotka repeated his government’s negative stance on mandatory refugee quotas that the European Commission proposed some time ago.
He said the quotas would be an incentive to illegal immigrants and an excuse for the Schengen area border countries that do not fulfil their tasks in the protection of the area’s border.
Sobotka said, however, it would be a stupid strategy not to join the solidarity mechanism.
On the other hand, it is not possible to be surprised at citizens’ fears of the refugees if they can see on television how Islamic State or Al-Qaeda behave, he said.
He said, however, the situation in the Czech Republic is different and that the government is capable of reacting to it and secure people’s safety.
Sobotka said Europe must concentrate on putting an end to the conflicts in its immediate neighbourhood.
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