Rogán said the number of asylum seekers in Hungary had risen dramatically in the past two years, and most were economic migrants for whom there were no jobs in Hungary. Many used Hungary to enter the European Union and move on to Western Europe, he said

Rogán said that, in January alone, some 14,000 applications for political asylum were registered. “We think this is extremely worrisome and therefore the Fidesz-KDNP party parliamentary group expressed very clearly to the government that Hungary’s gates must be shut to economic immigrants,” Rogán told a news conference.

Rogán said neighboring Austria was expected to tighten rules by this summer, which meant the Hungarian government had to take action by then to prevent immigrants from landing back in Hungary.