Poland Seeks State of Emergency Along Border Amid Record-High Migration Levels

A member of a group of migrants believed to be from Afghanistan stands as he tries to confirm their will to apply for international protection in Poland to Polish volunteer lawyers, in the presence of press members and Polish Parliament deputies, in the small village of Usnarz Gorny near Bialystok, northeastern Poland, located close to the border with Belarus, on Aug. 20, 2021. Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images

Poland’s government is set to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday in several areas along the countries’ border with Belarus as immigration levels have recently surged.

The legislation, believed to be signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Aug. 31, comes as thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, have tried to unlawfully enter the country from neighboring Belarus.