Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal commented on the detention of 12 migrants in an apartment building in Tallinn’s Nõmme district. He said the authorities intend to strengthen measures against illegal migration and crack down on those who organize it.
Michal said Estonia would publicly report cases involving the organization of illegal migration and hold those responsible criminally liable. He also stressed that migrants who entered the country illegally would be returned to the countries from which they arrived.
“In Estonia, we are acting decisively as part of our migration campaign so that hostile countries and criminal groups seeking a new illegal transit route through our country understand that there is no way through under any circumstances. The use of migration as a hybrid warfare weapon has now peaked in the Baltic states and Finland, and we must act decisively.
Let them be informed immediately that we will publicly ensure prison sentences for those who organize illegal migration and profit from it by acting as intermediaries. We will send those who arrive here illegally back to the countries they came from,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to Michal, the previous day he instructed the minister of the interior and the Police and Border Guard Board to present the government with a plan for additional measures to counter the increase in illegal migration.
Michal said that since the beginning of 2026, 128 people suspected of involvement in illegal migration had been detained in Estonia, including 84 after July 21. A total of 111 people are currently being held at the foreign nationals detention centre.
He said that instead of strengthening controls at its internal borders, Estonia would focus on reinforcing the European Union’s external border. In particular, the country will deploy an additional ESTPOL unit to Latvia to assist in guarding the Latvian-Belarusian border.
“Migrants are arriving in Estonia mainly via the Latvian-Belarusian border, and that is where the main pressure is currently concentrated. Belarus is deliberately behind the migration campaign which, at Russia’s instigation, channels migrants into the Baltic states. Estonia’s cooperation with Latvia and other countries is good. If someone arrives here illegally, we will detain them, and from there they will be returned to their country of origin,” Michal stressed.
The prime minister said that Estonian law enforcement authorities would continue investigating all cases involving the organization and facilitation of illegal migration and, if necessary, the government was prepared to allocate additional personnel and resources to ensure the country’s security.