Migration is a lucrative business along Hungary-Serbia border

Migration is also facilitated by those who let out their properties to migrants and provide transportation, Serbia's interior minister says.

And migrants can do so, as in Serbia, they are accommodated in centres that follow an open-door policy. This means that once they are registered, they will be given an ID and are free to  go wherever they want within the country. And they do so, according to local residents, who often see taxis in convoy driving through Subotica in the direction of the Hungarian border.  In addition, shootouts between the gangs of human smugglers have become frequent occurrences.

Data show that more than one and a half million migrants have passed through the Balkan country since the beginning of the migration crisis in 2015,  said Commissioner at Serbia's  Commissariat for Refugees and Migration Natasa Stanisavljevic

If the goal of these people had been to stay in Serbia, we would now have 200,000 or 300,000 immigrants living with us. But that is not their goal, they want to get into the European Union. These people do not want to stay in Serbia, they want to move on,

the commissioner said.

According to the local news portal Subotica.com, the participants of the citizens' forum also drew attention to the corruption that accompanies the migration situation. In response, police chiefs admitted this was possible, but urged people to report cases immediately and provide evidence to support their allegations so that authorities could take the necessary action. 

In addition to taking taxis, illegal migrants now use another form  of transport as well,  according to Subotica residents. Some people are engaged in transporting large number of migrants in lorries without registration plates.  When the vehicles reach the edge of the forest, the tarpaulin is lifted, and migrants by the dozen jump off the lorry and disappear in the woods. 

Cover photo: Migrants strolling in central Subotica (Photo: Magyar Nemzet)