Recently, the Government of Hungary put forward a legislative package - nicknamed ‘Stop Soros’ bill - designed to impose new rules on organizations that facilitate illegal migration. The new bill, said Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér at the press conference announcing the legislative package, “would require the supporters of illegal migration to disclose data and place a 25 percent duty on the funding they receive from abroad, in addition to which it would enable citizens who organize immigration to be served with newly introduced immigration restraining orders.”
How are NGOs facilitating illegal migration? Here are some examples.
The Med and W2EU (short for ‘Welcome to Europe’) organizations, supported by Pro Asyl, a Soros-funded, German, pro-migration NGO, have launched websites that help illegal migrants acquire a refugee status within the EU by instructing them to lie. The websites not only provide step-by-step guides for migrants who are eager to make their way to Europe but instruct them what to tell border guards to improve their chances for refugee status, even if that means disguising the truth.
Another service offered by Watch the Med is their refugee hotline, or “alarmphone” as they call it, for migrants having trouble at sea or afraid of being pushed back. Upon receiving a call, Watch the Med pledges to witness and document the issue and, if it’s necessary, to “inform media and politics to make pressure,” whatever that means.
The very same organizations are known for their “handbook” for EU-bound migrants, discovered in 2015 by Sky News. The pocket-sized guide is packed with tips, maps, phone numbers and advice about getting across Europe.
At the same time, the W2EU website’s motto reads: “We welcome all travelers on their difficult trip and wish you all a good journey - because freedom of movement is everybody's right!” Freedom of movement into and within the EU is a right of all EU citizens. Entering the EU, however, is not a right – contrary to the W2EU slogan – of those who are not EU citizens.
Last June, a two-minute video clip surfaced on the internet that used open-source information on marine traffic to show how pro-migration NGO vessels are shuttling illegal migrants from the coast of Libya to Italy. This was accompanied by a report from Frontex, the EU’s border guard agency, in which they wrote that while in 2015 NGO vessels were involved in less than 5 percent of search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, this number increased significantly to 40 percent in 2016. Such a remarkable increase is probably not a mere coincidence.
These organizations, some of them funded by billionaire financier George Soros, promote an open borders ideology. By openly supporting illegal migration, they pose a national security threat. This is what the Stop Soros bill is all about.