The EUobserver reports that the continuing threat of an influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the ongoing turmoil in Syria has prompted the Greek government to deploy an additional 1,880 border guards. They will be stationed in the Evros region on the Greek-Turkish border. The Evros River forms the Greek-Turkish border for nearly 200 kilometers. “The river loops east into Turkey near the Orestiada border town, creating a 12.5 kilometer land-strip where in January 2012 some 2,800 migrants tried to cross. The vast majority came from Afghanistan.” It is along this land strip that the Greek government is currently building a new border fence due to be finished in September.

On July 25 the Greek Minister for Public Order and Citizens Protection, Nikos Dendias, said: “In addition to the fence, controls at the entry points will be absolutely intensified within the next period. We will do our best to combat the problem of illegal migration. Any effort within the country is condemned if the entry gates remain open. Our goal, thus, will be to seal them.”

Internally, the Greek government commenced a crackdown on illegal immigrants already in the country. The BBC reported that over 6,000 people were detained in Athens, “though most were released.” Greek police, however, noted that “more than 1,600 illegal immigrants will be deported.” Public Order Minister Dendias defended the crackdown saying that “Greece’s economic plight could not afford an invasion of immigrants.”  He also called the immigration issue “a bomb at the foundations of the society and of the state. Unless we create a proper structure to handle immigration, then we will fall apart.”