Bakondi: Hungary will have to live with illegal migration in the long term

György Bakondi said the “successful migration policy of the Hungarian government must be continued.”

György Bakondi, the prime minister’s domestic security advisor, told M1 on Friday that illegal immigration remains active and there is no change on the horizon “that would reduce the number of people leaving [their homelands, or change or possibly eliminate the profit of people smuggling organisations,” adding that Hungary will have to “live with” illegal migration in the long term.

Bakondi said the “successful migration policy of the Hungarian government must be continued.”

Commenting on data published by the European border patrol agency, Frontex, which said that illegal immigration fell by 30 percent in Europe in the first quarter of 2025, Bakondi said Hungary was “in a special position”. “Due to the reduced activity of Serbian law enforcement, people smugglers … are increasingly returning,” he said. Bakondi said that during the same period last year, 875 illegal entrants had been apprehended. That jumped to 4,732 this year, he said.