Moroccan nationals account for 6.7% of the 2,029 people who were detained for residing illegally in Bulgaria last July.
This is what the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior published in their monthly data presentation on the country’s migration status.
50.5% of those detained last July for residing illegally in Bulgaria were of Syrian descent, while 34.1% were of Afghan descent.
More than 7,160 persons were illegally residing in Bulgaria between January and July of this year, a 24.8% rise over the figures of the same time period in 2022.
Moroccan citizens make up 11.1% of all those detained during this time. Syrians make up 44.1% of them, followed by Afghans by 39%.
234 persons were deported by Bulgarian authorities between January 1 and the end of July. 17 of them were required to leave by administrative procedures at their own expense, while 119 were deported under readmission agreements and 78 were forcibly deported.
Nationals from Turkey lead the list of those deported during this time with a rate of 22.6%, followed by their Iraqi counterparts with a rate of 8.5%, as well as Moroccan citizens with a rate of 6.8%, according to information from the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior.
The data also showed an increase in the number of irregular migrants in July.
Bulgarian authorities made arrests in July of 2,576 irregular migrants, a rise of 35% over the 1,910 migrants that were counted in June.
“259 were arrested while trying to enter Bulgaria across the border, 288 were arrested while trying to infiltrate other countries through Bulgaria’s borders, and 2029 were arrested inside the country,” according to official data.
Between January and July of this year, there were more than 8,700 arrests of irregular migrants, a 14.5% rise over the same period previous year.