Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday that 981 irregular migrants and 31 migrant smugglers were intercepted in nationwide operations on Thursday. Yerlikaya said the "Shield-35" operation involved more than 26,000 personnel who inspected more than 366,000 people during operations.

"Türkiye is exemplary in migration management as it respects human rights and freedoms, laws and civic values while not conceding public order and security. We tackle the migration issue with all its aspects, from regular and irregular migration to international protection, voluntary, safe and dignified returns to source countries and fight against migrant smuggling and with border management," Yerlikaya said in a social media post.

Türkiye has been a migration destination, especially in the past decade. European countries have remained attractive to migrants from African and Asian countries in the past decade, and Türkiye is a transit route for thousands of asylum-seekers looking to cross over to Greece from its western coasts.

Some migrants make dangerous journeys over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.

The number of intercepted irregular migrants has been on the rise since 2020, in proportion to more efficient work by the coast guard.

Türkiye has caught over 1.1 million irregular migrants within its borders since 2020, according to official figures from the Interior Ministry. The largest number of irregular migrants in the past five years were Afghan nationals, followed by Syrians, data has shown.

Figures reveal an upward trajectory in irregular arrivals in Türkiye from 2020 to 2023 before dropping significantly in 2024. Authorities caught 122,302 migrants in 2020, 162,996 in 2021, 285,027 in 2022, 254,008 in 2023 and 175,786 so far in 2024. In October alone, some 5,132 irregular migrants were caught in the country.

Türkiye has also expanded its crackdown on migrant smuggling, capturing 31,931 smugglers between 2020 and 2023. As of Oct. 10, 2024, some 9,761 smugglers have been detained nationwide.

As part of recently revived talks to mend long-tense bilateral ties, Greece and Türkiye are floating a renewal of a 2016 EU deal restricting migration.