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Poland Extends Belarus Border Asylum Freeze for Ninth Straight Time
(MENAFN) Poland's parliament voted Friday to extend for another 60 days its suspension of the right to seek asylum for migrants crossing illegally from Belarus, media reported.
Lawmakers approved the measure 418 to 16, marking its ninth consecutive renewal since Poland first imposed the freeze in March 2025 in response to what officials described as a wave of mostly Middle Eastern and African migrants entering via Belarus. The extension takes effect Sept. 18.
In a parliamentary motion, the government said "dangerous incidents have regularly occurred in which aggressive foreign nationals attacked Polish patrols," citing stones, bottles and bricks thrown at personnel and damage to border barriers. Warsaw also accused Belarusian state services of aiding attacks on Polish soldiers, police and border guards, and of backing attempts to tunnel migrants beneath the frontier.
Between March 2025 and Aug. 16, Polish authorities rejected 492 asylum claims while accepting 178 from vulnerable applicants, government data show. Illegal crossing attempts have meanwhile plunged — just 235 recorded in the first half of this year, down from more than 15,500 over the same span in 2025, according to the Polish Interior Ministry.
Polish and EU officials have tied the migrant surge to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, while human rights groups accuse Polish authorities of pushing migrants back to Belarus without a chance to claim asylum. Dozens of migrants are believed to have died along the border since 2021.
Lawmakers approved the measure 418 to 16, marking its ninth consecutive renewal since Poland first imposed the freeze in March 2025 in response to what officials described as a wave of mostly Middle Eastern and African migrants entering via Belarus. The extension takes effect Sept. 18.
In a parliamentary motion, the government said "dangerous incidents have regularly occurred in which aggressive foreign nationals attacked Polish patrols," citing stones, bottles and bricks thrown at personnel and damage to border barriers. Warsaw also accused Belarusian state services of aiding attacks on Polish soldiers, police and border guards, and of backing attempts to tunnel migrants beneath the frontier.
Between March 2025 and Aug. 16, Polish authorities rejected 492 asylum claims while accepting 178 from vulnerable applicants, government data show. Illegal crossing attempts have meanwhile plunged — just 235 recorded in the first half of this year, down from more than 15,500 over the same span in 2025, according to the Polish Interior Ministry.
Polish and EU officials have tied the migrant surge to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, while human rights groups accuse Polish authorities of pushing migrants back to Belarus without a chance to claim asylum. Dozens of migrants are believed to have died along the border since 2021.
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