Germany extends border controls to curb irregular migration
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00:00Controls for those entering Germany, such as this one near Poland, now look set to become
00:06widespread across the country's 3,700-kilometre-long land border.
00:11After ramping up security measures on several of its frontiers last year amid a surge in
00:15first-time asylum requests, Germany has announced temporary internal checks at all of the country's
00:20land borders.
00:21These are the same measures that we are now taking with the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria
00:27and Switzerland.
00:28We will then do this with France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark.
00:34I have ordered this today and have already informed the EU.
00:37Starting next Monday, the controls will initially last for a period of six months.
00:42The decision comes after a deadly mass stabbing last month in the western city of Solingen,
00:47claimed by the Islamic State group.
00:49An attack which inflamed fierce debate over asylum rules when it transpired that the main
00:54suspect was a Syrian refugee facing deportation.
00:58The government has sought a response to the outrage.
01:00In the interior minister's view, stepping up border security will help prevent such
01:04incidents in the future.
01:07This will serve to further limit irregular migration and protect against the acute dangers
01:12posed by Islamist terror and serious crime.
01:15We are doing everything we can to better protect the people in our country against this.
01:20These controls also enable effective entry refusal.
01:24We have already had more than 30,000 entry refusals at Germany's external borders
01:28since last October.
01:31In the wake of the attack, the government also vowed to step up deportations of rejected
01:35asylum seekers as well as tougher knife laws.
01:39Monday's decision comes days after the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany secured
01:44a historic election victory in the eastern state of Thuringia.
01:48And over in Brandenburg, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party is doing all it can to retain control
01:53over the government ahead of an election in two weeks.