16,767 migrants were detained in Bulgaria in 2022, which is almost 6,000 more than in the previous year, 2021, when the number of arrests was 10,799. This is another testimony to the increased migrant pressure in the last one year, according to Interior Ministry statistics.

The fourth caretaker government of President Rumen Radev took office on August 2, 2022, and since then has been constantly criticized for its failure to deal with the huge wave of migrants who are caught inside the country on an almost daily basis.

The data of the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs show that in August 2022 a total of 2,288 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 458 were on entry, 325 were on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 1,505 were found to be illegally staying in the interior of the country. Their number is 2.3 times more compared to the previous month (997 persons). In the month of August last year, an extremely serious incident happened. Two policemen died in Burgas after a bus with migrants hit the police patrol car. What became clear at the time was that the driver of the bus disobeyed a stop baton signal by law enforcement officers and began a pursuit. A police patrol tried to block the bus driver, who lost control and swept both the police car and two kiosks. The bus was carrying 47 migrants - men, women and children. Subsequently, Acting Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stated that over 300 people would be sent to guard our borders and drones would be used to reduce the migrant wave.

In September, 2,822 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 563 were on entry, 381 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and 1,878 were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Their number is 23.3% more compared to the previous month (2288 persons). This month, the Border Police detained 50 migrants from Syria on the main road from Malko Tarnovo to Burgas to the village of Krushevets. In addition, the police detained a Turkish bus with 41 illegal immigrants in it after a chase along the Trakia highway. In the same month, the Acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivan Demerdzhiev, announced that he had data on at least 10 border policemen involved in various schemes for illegal immigration of migrants to our country.

In the month of October, a total of 1,687 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 181 were on entry, 310 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 1,196 were found to be illegally staying inside the country, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. Their number is 40.2% less compared to the previous month (2822 persons). In October, three groups of illegal migrants were detained in the area of Ihtiman and Vakarel, with a total of 57 migrants traveling in two vans and a car. 26 illegal migrants were caught in Sofia, as well as 75 illegal migrants on AM "Trakia".

In November, a total of 1,178 third-country nationals were detained, of which 170 were on entry, 224 were on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and 784 were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Their number is 30.2% less compared to the previous month (1687 persons). In November, a Bulgarian policeman was killed in a shootout in the Elhovo area, not far from the Turkish border. 32-year-old junior inspector Petar Bachvarov was mortally wounded on Monday evening while trying to stop the entry of illegal migrants into Bulgaria in the area of the village of Golyam Dervent. For heroism and courage and for outstanding achievements in the fight against crime and the preservation of order, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivan Demerdzhiev, awarded Petar Bachvarov posthumously the Medal of Honor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In December, a total of 1,162 citizens of third countries were detained, of which 92 were on entry, 84 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 986 were found to be illegally staying inside the country, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. Their number is 1.4% less compared to the previous month (1178 persons).

Data from the Ministry of the Interior show that a total of 16,767 third-country nationals were detained throughout 2022. Of these, 2,298 entered the state border, 2,377 exited without registration, and 12,092 were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Compared to the total number of detainees in the same period of 2021 (10,799), a 1.6 times increase is reported.

In 2023, a new caretaker cabinet was appointed after another failed attempt to form a regular government, and the new old caretaker ministers again came under fire for handling the migrant pressure. How the caretaker government deals with the migrant flow is a question that everyone has to answer for themselves.

According to the Migration Directorate, a total of 631 citizens of third countries were detained for the first month of the year, of which 46 were on entry, 98 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 487 were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Their number is 45.7% less compared to the previous month (1162 persons). During the month, 487 citizens of third countries were found to be illegally staying inside the country, which is 50.6% less compared to the previous month (986 persons). Among them, citizens of Afghanistan prevail - 81.1% and Syria - 16.8. In January, an employee of the Ministry of the Interior was detained, illegally transporting 31 migrants in a minibus of AM Trakia.

In February, a total of 647 third-country nationals were detained, of which 42 were on entry, 81 on exit without registration by the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and 524 were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Their number is 2.5% more compared to the previous month (631 persons). In January-February 2023, a total of 1,278 third-country nationals were detained. Of these, 88 entered the state border, 179 exited without registration, and 1,011 persons were found to be illegally staying inside the country. Compared to the total number of detainees in the same period of 2022 (2086), a 38.7% decrease is reported.

In February, the bodies of 18 migrants were found in a truck near the Sofia village of Lokorsko. Subsequently, it became clear that out of 52 transported migrants, 34 survived and were accommodated in several capital hospitals. The migrants entered through our border with Turkey, spent several days in the Yambol region, and then were loaded into a truck, in hiding places under timber. Five people were detained as defendants, as the Sofia City Court sentenced the defendants for trafficking and transporting 52 migrants to the most severe measure of remand - custody.

In the month of March, we again witnessed the capture of migrants, but the official statistics on the number of those captured at the border and in the interior of the country have not yet been released. However, so far, 54 migrants have been found in a minibus on AM "Trakia" near Pazardzhik, and three people, including a 7-month pregnant woman and a military man, were caught while transporting four illegal migrants.

Migrant pressure, along with economic challenges, is becoming one of the main threats that Bulgaria has to deal with.

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