Poland said Russia and Belarus are organizing the crisis by allowing thousands of Middle Eastern and African migrants to cross the eastern border.
Polish President Andrze Duda signed the law on March 26th to suspend the right to asylum for illegal immigrants.
“The most important thing is to protect the Polish border and the Polish services that protect it.”
On social media platform X, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tass said the government would adopt the law “without an instantaneous delay.”
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The international organization said exceptions have been made for vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, people who need special treatment due to their age or health, Belarusian citizens, and those who can clearly demonstrate that they are at risk of suffering serious harm if they return to Belarus.
It added that it believed the Commission could launch legal action on Poland for violating EU asylum law.
Since 2021, the Polish government has adopted an increasingly strict line on illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
Tens of thousands of men, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, tried to illegally cross the Polish-Berals border.
Both Warsaw and Brussels argue that this is a manufactured crisis organized by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow and Minsk deny any liability.
This represents a 192% increase from the previous year.
Approximately 13,000 border guards and soldiers protect the 400-kilometer (249 miles) of border, with razor wires strung across steel barriers and covered with security cameras.
Drones, helicopters and armored vehicles continue to be monitored.
Polish authorities say immigrants have arrived in Belarus on tourist or student visas and are being supported across the border with fees ranging from $8,000 to $12,000.
Authorities say they are supported by Belarusian security services and other “organizers.”
According to Polish officials, about 90% of illegal immigrants on the Polish border have Russian visas.
Officials say the attackers reached a bar with a high metal wall of five metres (about 16 feet) separating Poland from Belarus and stabbed a soldier into the rib.
Polish security forces were unable to detain the attacker as he was on the Belarus side of the barrier, they said.
Finland wants to extend the ban
Poland is not alone in its response to pressures related to illegal immigration.
The Finnish government said on March 27 that it has asked Parliament to extend the law that will deny asylum applications from immigrants across the closed eastern border with Russia and allow them to be sent back until the end of 2026.
NATO member Finland has accused Russia of a weapons transition.
“The threat of equipmentized migration at Finland’s eastern border remains high and unpredictable,” Home Minister Mari Lantanen said in a statement.
The current emergency law was approved for one year in July 2024 and is expected to expire on July 21st.
In 2024, only eight people have crossed the border illegally since January, data from the Ministry of Home Affairs shows.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Geiberchard contributed to this report.
