Emergency: Hungary to Declare 'Mass Migration-Caused' Crisis Next Week

Emergency measures to address the migrant crisis will come into force in Hungary on September 16, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s chief of staff announced Thursday.

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) – The Hungarian parliament passed a law last week giving expanded powers to security officials establishing a three-year prison term for illegal border crossings and up to five years for damaging state property, including the newly constructed border fence.

"The government will announce the ‘mass migration-caused crisis’ as planned on September 16," Janos Lazar said at a press conference.

On Wednesday, the country’s defense minister said that Hungary was ready to deploy up to 4,000 troops to protect its southern border with Serbia.

Lazar said the anticipated emergency law assigned special powers to national security officers.

Thousands of migrants use Hungary as a gateway to wealthier EU member states. Budapest estimates that over 156,000 migrants have illegally entered the country since the beginning of 2015.

Earlier in the day, a representative of Hungarian police told RIA Novosti that a record number of 3,321 migrants had crossed into Hungary in the last 24 hours, up from last week’s record of 3,313.