The wave of refugees - inside the fences and beyond

A migratory pressure began to intensify on Europe at the end of 2014 and reached its peak in the summer of 2015. In the second half of the summer, the number of incoming migrants increased dramatically in Hungary. On June 17, 2015, the Hungarian government decided to seal off its frontier on the Hungarian-Serbian border section so that immigrants would only use legal points of entry.

Illegal border crossings

The first line of the fence was completed on August 29 on the Hungarian-Serbian border. Subsequently –as the migration routes changed and the refugees started heading towards the Croatian border – the fence was completed on the Hungarian-Croatian border on the 16th of October. Thus, the border barrier became complete in the south. As a result, the number of illegal border crossings diminished: while it was 98,756 in October, there were only 321 illegal entrants in November after the fence was finished. The decline has been rapid since then.
In the summer of 2016, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that a second fence became necessary. Firstly, because the existing fence line was not an impenetrable barrier for those who tried to get into the country (it could be cut with wire cutters); secondly, he warned about the fact that up to hundreds of thousands of migrants could arrive in the future. The fence could not have stopped such masses as it was built back then.
The second line of the fence was completed by May 2017. The new border barrier is a fence system with night vision equipment, thermal cameras, video cameras, camcorders and an intelligent signaling system.
It is important to mention that in parallel with the construction of fences, the legislation on border protection was also amended. The authority of the border guards was increased and damaging the fence was declared a criminal offense. The transformation of the legal environment also contributed to the effectiveness of the border closure. Consequently, the southern border of Hungary became practically impenetrable. The illegal migration into our country was reduced significantly.

Everyone agrees: the fence is a must

During the construction of the fence, the Hungarian opposition parties – except for Jobbik-, criticized the border closure for environmental and humanitarian reasons. Over the past three years, the fence has effectively stopped the crowd flowing into Hungary. Even the opposition parties - overcoming their political disputes - do not deny this fact.
According to a recent survey by the Nézőpont Intézet, 82% of Hungarians agree with the closure of the southern border. There is a relative consensus regarding the necessity of the fence among members of the Hungarian society and the political elite as well.
Initially, the European Union strongly criticized Hungary because of the fence construction, even though the protection of borders and the choice of border surveillance are the exclusive competences of the member states. The Hungarian government has chosen a legitimate way to protect its borders. According to the survey of the Nézőpont Intézet, the majority of the Visegrád 4 partner countries’ population also supports protecting the borders with a fence: 60% of the Polish and Slovakian people and 55% in the Czech Republic welcomed the Hungarian fence.
The fence constructed in two phases on the southern border of Hungary has undoubtedly been an effective solution to stop the influx of refugees. 20 times more illegal border crossings were registered during the migration crisis in 2015, than in 2016 after the construction of the fence (see diagram). A fence is a successful alternative to protect the borders across Europe. A high proportion of people in Hungary and in many European countries support closing the border with a fence. Besides Hungary, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Greece have also successfully defended their borders with a similar method.

Source: http://hadmernok.hu/174_07_kui.pdf#page=5
http://nezopontintezet.hu/analysis/tizbol-nyolcan-hatarkerites-mellett/