Refugee crisis: Hungary launches border crackdown

First arrests under Hungary's border crackdown

The first arrests have occurred under Hungary’s new border laws, according to Reuters.

Hungarian police detained nine Syrian and seven Afghan migrants early on Tuesday for illegally crossing the Serbian border fence, a police spokeswoman said.
Police spokeswoman Viktoria Csiszer-Kovacs said the migrants were suspected of lifting the razor wire fence to get into Hungary, which constitutes a crime under the new laws that took effect at midnight.

Under the new system Hungary has designated Serbia as a safe country so if asylum seekers have entered from Serbia without already applying for asylum there – they face automatic expulsion within eight days.