Shield-30 operations netted 51 migrant smugglers and 1,644 irregular migrants across Türkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced in a statement Monday.
Yerlikaya vowed to continue the fight against migrant smuggling and irregular migration for the peace and security of the country.
Security forces captured 51 smugglers, including 11 foreign nationals, in the operations while the deportation process was underway for irregular migrants. Yerlikaya said 24,400 security personnel participated in the operations and inspections in 5,094 locations, from abandoned buildings where irregular migrants were hiding to entertainment venues, truck depots, bus stations, ports and mass transportation hubs.
Authorities checked the IDs of more than 442,000 people to detect irregular migrants. They also confiscated unlicensed guns, drugs and vehicles used in smuggling discovered during the operations.
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. 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 so far in 2024. In October alone, some 5,132 irregular migrants were caught in the country.
Türkiye has also expanded its crackdown on migrant smuggling, capturing 31,931 smugglers between 2020 and 2023. As of Oct. 10, 2024, some 9,761 smugglers have been detained nationwide.
Türkiye has been a migration destination, especially in the past decade, and currently hosts more than 4.4 million residents of foreign origin. It hosts more than 3.1 million Syrians under temporary protection, while another 228,290 people stay in the country under the status of international protection.
The latest figures show it hosts more than 1.1 million people with residence permits. Irregular migration, however, escalated as undocumented migrants, those arriving under the condition of limited stays, illegally outstaying, are growing in numbers. Though the number varies over the years, Afghans and Syrians make up the bulk of intercepted irregular migrants. Palestinian migrants and migrants from Turkmenistan, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Sudan usually follow them in statistics.
European countries have remained attractive to migrants from African and Asian countries in the past decade, and Türkiye is a transit route for thousands of asylum-seekers looking to cross over to Greece from its western coasts. Some migrants make dangerous journeys over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.
More than 3,150 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, accounting for 80% of the deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean.
The number of intercepted irregular migrants has been on the rise since 2020, in proportion to more efficient work by the coast guard.
Türkiye has been taking new measures at its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants, balancing a humanitarian policy and the need to stop thousands from risking their lives. The Directorate of Migration set up “mobile migration points” to speed up the processing of irregular migrants. The migration points, the first of their kind in the world, help law enforcement in the field check for irregular migrants. As part of recently revived talks to mend long-tense bilateral ties, Greece and Türkiye are floating a renewal of a 2016 EU deal restricting migration.
Recently, Ankara signed a deal with Iraq on the voluntary return of Iraqi citizens in Türkiye. Türkiye is also reinforcing its eastern borders against illegal crossings, notably as Iran recently unveiled plans to deport some 2 million undocumented migrants.
In Van, the eastern province where Türkiye has the longest border with Iran, security measures are highest against irregular migration, smuggling and infiltration by terrorists. A concrete wall straddling a line of about 180 kilometers (112 miles) is still under construction, with construction completed in most places. Elsewhere, towers fitted with thermal cameras and other high-tech surveillance equipment oversee the line.