The Border Guard detained six foreigners in Lubieszyn

Photo: Mirosław Winconek archive

After checking the legality of their stay, the court decided to place four of them in a guarded centre for foreigners.

"One – underage – person was also urgently directed to another guarded centre in our country," said Tadeusz Gruchalla from the press team of the commander of the Border Guard unit.

Due to the reintroduction of border controls in June, the German services did not allow 131 foreigners to enter their country in the Lubieszyn region.

"The Polish Border Guard does not carry out border control at the internal borders of the EU and the Schengen area. Therefore, we do not carry out the same procedures as the German services," Gruchalla emphasized.

Last week, Border Guard officers in Szczecin also took action against 18 citizens of Somalia and four citizens of Eritrea. They conducted a check on the legality of their stay and initiated administrative proceedings obliging them to return. Until these proceedings are completed, they have the right to stay in Poland. They were also obliged to report to the Border Guard post in Szczecin once a week.

"Foreigners were offered assistance in the form of accommodation and food. Five Somali citizens took advantage of the assistance and were placed in one of the assistance centers," the Border Guard reported.

Photos and video recordings of foreigners staying in Żeromski Park in Szczecin, and then on the streets of the Pogodno district, were published on social media last weekend, including by Law and Justice politicians.

Officers check the identity of foreigners, checking their legal status in our country. Each case is considered individually. Those staying in Poland illegally are most often taken to guarded centers for foreigners and there they wait for a decision ordering them to leave Poland.

Opposition MPs, including Dariusz Matecki (PiS), publish information on the internet about migrants staying in Poland who, according to them, were transported from Germany in breach of procedures by the local border services.

Controls on the Polish-German border have been in force since October 2023. They were introduced by Germany to stop illegal migration.