Security to be strengthened at Chiasso asylum centre in southern Switzerland

Migration to Europe has risen sharply in recent months, the Swiss authorities say. So far this year, almost 16,000 illegal entries have been recorded at Switzerland's southern border. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Security measures are to be strengthened at the federal asylum centre in Chiasso, canton Ticino, Swiss Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider announced following her visit on Monday.

The asylum situation in the Swiss city must be “carefully analysed”, the minister declared in Chiasso after her visit to the federal centre and a border post with Italy. This was her second visit to Chiasso, following one in January.

Since the beginning of summer, the local and cantonal authorities in Ticino have been calling for measures to improve the situation inside and outside the asylum centre. They criticise the high occupancy rate and numerous reported offences.

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The justice ministry confirmed that Elisabeth Baume-Schneider had instructed the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) to permanently strengthen security and prevention measures in and around the centre. This will include additional staff and patrols and an increase in occupation programmes, in agreement with the municipalities.

The ministry is also preparing changes to the law to strengthen security and prevention in federal asylum centres in general.

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During talks in Ticino, the minister underlined that only a tiny minority of asylum seekers behave badly or commit offences. She stressed that asylum is a shared commitment and that the accommodation situation is tense throughout Switzerland. In all, 21,300 asylum applications have been filed this year, 40% more than at the same period last year.

The “Ticino and Central Switzerland” region is currently housing a maximum of 1,390 applicants. Of these, up to 650 can be accommodated in Ticino under written agreements with the canton.

The SEM has increased its accommodation capacity from 5,000 places to over 10,000 nationwide. 

Migration to Europe has risen sharply in recent months, the Swiss authorities say. So far this year, almost 16,000 illegal entries have been recorded at Switzerland’s southern border. Some of these people are sent back to Italy under a bilateral readmission agreement. After being controlled at the Swiss border, less than 3% of migrants apply for asylum in Switzerland.

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