in World News Hungarian Border Fence Practically Eliminates Illegal Immigration
The United States isn’t the only country dealing with an illegal immigration problem. In the Central European nation of Hungary, officials have also been battling unlawful migration — but a simple strategy is now providing an example for other countries to follow.
That strategy is called a fence. While illegal immigration apologists have attacked conservatives for suggesting straightforward solutions, Hungary has shown that old-school ideas still work.
According to The Daily Caller, a border fence was recently completed on the country’s southern border, with Serbia. The barrier stretches along 96 miles and is only 14 feet tall, but has a few tricks up its sleeve.
“Go a little closer and you’ll notice several layers of razor-wire capable of delivering electric shocks, cameras, heat sensors and loud speakers ready to tell migrants they’re about to break Hungarian law if they as much as touch the fence,” The Daily Caller reported.
The country isn’t just relying on the fence, however. A combination of military officers and trained civilians help patrol the border area at all times.
“More than 1,000 volunteers will receive generous salary and benefit packages when they deploy as ‘border hunters’ after extensive training,” the report explained.
“The area surrounding the fence is closed off for the public. Visitors need to apply for access in advance and photos of guards and the Serbian side are strictly prohibited for security purposes.”
Before the fence and patrols were put in place, Hungary faced a serious illegal immigration problem. As a country placed at the crossroads of several migration routes, it received high numbers of aliens from nearby Serbia as well as long-distance transients from Syria.
“It was an invasion,” stated Laszlo Toroczkai, the mayor of Asotthalom, the town where the fence was completed. “Illegal immigration is a crime in a normal country. It’s not a normal thing to break into a country.”
Once the fence and the patrols were put in place, the results were nothing short of dramatic. Illegal immigration reportedly fell from 6,353 per day in the fence area to only 870 the day after it was built. Now, officials say that the daily number is closer to 40 per day, The Daily Caller reported.
“They don’t even try,” one border guard declared. “We haven’t had a Syrian in six months.”
Like conservatives in the United States, proponents of the border fence in Hungary have been accused of xenophobia and racism simply for securing their country. However, they maintain that the program’s effectiveness speaks for itself.
“It was not unknown what the most effective way to handle illegal border crossings is. Like it or not, and that’s the point we always make, there is no more effective way (to stop) illegal border crossings than building a physical barrier,” said Zoltan Kovacs, a Hungarian government representative.
“You might not like it, it’s not a nice thing, but … the only way to stop illegal border crossings is (to) first build a fence, man it, equip it, and also, in parallel, build up your capabilities in terms of legal confines, legal circumstances to be able to handle what is coming,” he continued.
There is no doubt that the extensive border in the southern United States is much longer than the one in Hungary. With that said, the U.S. also has far more resources at its disposal, along with millions of people who are ready to support a similar project.
As Hungary has shown, sometimes the obvious solutions are the best. All that is needed is the will to finally take action.
http://conservativetribune.com/simple-move-country-syrian-months/