The Daugavpils center is close to Belarus, so it is the busiest at the moment, with 80% of the places filled. In Mucenieki, the fill is 55-60%.
The Daugavpils Accommodation Center for Foreigners in Detention currently has 29 residents, mostly from Somalia, Pakistan, Cuba, and Iran.
"Young men, between 20 and 40 years old. And when we talk about illegals, the age can vary. They come here legally, say, to work, something went wrong, the employer betrayed them or they don't like the pay, and then they try to avoid being deported," says Artūrs Garevičs-Jurevičs, acting head of the Daugavpils Accommodation Centre for Foreigners in Detention.
They are all waiting for their documents to be renewed or residence permits to be issued. On average, one person stays in the center for a few weeks. Each person is entitled to three meals a day.
"There is a possibility that the people placed here may need medical help, of course we provide it. Not on the spot, of course, but medical consultations and so on, and they are also paid for from the same fund," explains Garevičs-Jurevičs.
The European Union fund covers the most of the costs, with the state paying 25% of the maintenance costs. Since last year, more than one and a half thousand people have been accommodated in the summer centers in Daugavpils and Mucenieki.
"Medical assistance has been provided to 62 foreigners and 109 persons have been forcibly deported. The list includes 25 citizens of Uzbekistan, 25 citizens of India, 16 citizens of the Russian Federation and others," says Oļegs Voloncevičs, representative of the Implementation of External Financial Instruments Division of the State Border Guard.
The centers admit that there is enough space at the moment, but they are counting on the number to grow.
"The biggest challenges are the creativity of the organizers of the carriers, so to speak, and their attempts to somehow ensure the transport of irregular migrants in some very interesting situations," says Colonel Raimonds Kublickis, Head of the Daugavpils Directorate of the State Border Guard.
