• State Border Guard Service Mr. Gunars Dabolins: influx of illegal immigrants to Latvia has noticeably increased since Latvia joined the Shengen zone

Vesti Segodnya prints an interview with the Chief of the State Border Guard Service Mr. Gunars Dabolins. According to Mr. Dabolins, influx of illegal immigrants to Latvia has noticeably increased since Latvia joined the Shengen zone. For past 9 months the border guards have detained 46 illegals from Russia, 24 from Ukraine, 20 from Moldova, 16 from Uzbekistan, 13 from Bangladesh, and number of illegals from Armenia, Georgia, China, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria. Mr. Gunars Dabolins believes that low social benefits in Latvia prevent massive influx of illegal immigrants.