Hungary has almost entirely halted illegal immigration—simply by building a wall.
Two years ago, Hungary’s conservative government moved to seal up the nation’s border with Serbia. Because the frontier between Hungary and Serbia is also on the edge of the European Union, many illegal immigrants were heading through Hungary to enter the E.U.
Hungary finally said enough was enough when it discovered that many of the terrorists who attacked several locations in Paris in November 2015—killing 137—had crossed the porous E.U. border between Hungary and Serbia.
According to reports, the wall has done what it was designed to do. Since its construction, illegal immigration into Hungary has collapsed from a high of 391,000 in 2015 to just 1,184 in 2017—a 99.7% drop in only two years.
“The system of technical barriers is the key to the success of border security, and without it, it would be impossible to stop the mass arrival of immigrants,” explained Gyorgy Bakondi, the Chief Security Adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“People who attack the fence are taking a stand in favor of allowing large numbers of people to enter the country without any form of control,” Bakondi added.
The Hungarian wall’s proven effectiveness comes as President Donald Trump attempts to get his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border funded by Congress—a move that many Democrats say is a non-starter.