The Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey announced that 1,942 people had been deported from Turkey into Syria in June.
The toll, published by the crossing’s administration through its official platforms on Tuesday, shows the largest number of deportees per month since the beginning of 2022. This coincided with security campaigns by Turkish authorities in major cities, particularly Istanbul, to combat illegal immigration.
Earlier data from the Bab al-Hawa crossing indicate that there has been an increase in the number of monthly deportees to Syria since the beginning of the year, with 1,139 in January, 1,396 in February, 1,321 in March, and 1,323 in April. The number slightly decreased in May to 1,222, before rising again in June to 1,729.
Extended campaign
Many Turkish cities have recently been experiencing security campaigns against “illegal immigration”, including Syrian refugees residing in other states, other than the state where they are registered.
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Turkish authorities have deported 34,112 migrants and refugees who have entered the country illegally since the beginning of this year, according to an Interior Ministry statement published by Anatolia on June 5.
The step comes within the framework of combating irregular migration, stressing that inspections related to the arrest of irregular migrants are continuing at full speed.
At the time, the statement noted that 24,344 foreigners of 89 nationalities continued to be detained in deportation centers and law enforcement units in preparation for their deportation.
They’re trying to come back
According to a report by al-Arabiya Net, 19,000 refugees have been deported from the country since the beginning of this year. However, some of the deportations were unlawful, with the authorities using “false” documents to support the orders. This led to the dispersal of Syrian families who depended on the work of the deported family members to meet their daily living expenses.
According to Turkish activists, volunteer lawyers working with the association are seeking to reunite Syrian families, especially those with chronic illnesses, some of which no longer have shelter after the deportation of their families.
These lawyers are working to submit the required papers to the Turkish authorities to ensure that the refugees who have been deported at random have residence permits to remain on Turkish territory. This may contribute to the return of some of them to their families residing in Turkey so far.
These lawyers assert that the documents under which the Turkish authorities deported Syrian refugees were sometimes “false” and that the deported refugees were not aware of their content at all.
“The Turkish authorities randomly deported me from Istanbul without committing any criminal offence,” said a Syrian refugee who was deported nearly three months ago to Syria, where he now resides.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
