Already in the process of building a new 12.5 km-long fence along its border with Turkey, Greece has now opened the first of what is eventually planned to be 50 “migrant detention” centers. The first, located at Amygdaleza, northwest of Athens, is designed to accommodate 1,200 undocumented migrants. EUobserver reports that, in a political rally in Athens, Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said, “We are sending a message in every direction that the country is not unfenced anymore.”

The Greek government is also trying to alleviate the problem of undocumented migrants being forced onto the streets because the government has nowhere to house them during court proceedings. This allows them to, as EUobserver says, become “easy targets for political parties campaigning” for a vote. EUobserver also reports that one particular political movement in Greece is campaigning on a platform calling for “all irregular migrants [to] be deported.” They also “want to place landmines along the Greek-Turkish border.”