Frontex Chief Fabrice Leggeri told German tabloid Bild that the influx of refugees to Europe is expected to increase. He called on EU countries to “arrest if necessary” in cases where refugees do not have the right to asylum status. “Whoever travels illegally doesn’t have the right to receive asylum and should be rapidly returned to their country,” he told Bild.

EU regulations allow for irregular immigrants to be incarcerated for as long as 18 months so that the repatriation can be organized. Leggeri stated that Frontex has already documented “more than 800,000 illegal entries” through the EU borders, most of these from regions currently in war. He estimated that the EU has yet to see the worst of the situation and expects a hike in the numbers of illegal entries.