High rotation in foreigner centres in Podlaskie province

POSG spokesperson Katarzyna Zdanowicz said there were two centres for foreigners in Podlaskie province - in Białystok and Czerwony Bór. "In total they can host 300 families," she added.

Asked if there was still room for foreigners due to the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border, she said there should not be any problems with that. "Our centres aren't filled to capacity, but rotation is high. The number of people staying in them changes all the time. At the moment, we're ready to take in new people, but the situation is very dynamic," Zdanowicz said.

She also explained there were two types of centres: open, managed by the Office for Foreigners, at which people are allowed outside, and closed, where people aren't allowed to go outside, managed by the Border Guard. "Foreigners caught trying to illegally cross the border without documents are being placed in the closed ones," the spokeswoman said.

Centre for foreigners in Białystok is an open facility located in a multi-storey residential building. There are no residential estates in the immediate vicinity, only commercial ones and offices.

Foreigners can be seen around the place, kids play at the adjacent playground, while adults take walks or sit on the benches. Life goes on here in its own, steady rhythm. Towels and net curtains are left to dry at windowsills, someone is cleaning windows, older kids have fun riding their bikes.

A Border Guard spokeswoman Anna Michalska said the service had detained one illegal immigrant on the territory of Podlaskie province on Sunday - a citizen of Congo. The guards administered first aid to the woman, as she had injured one leg. They called an ambulance which took the Congolese woman to a hospital.

On Sunday alone, the Border Guard intercepted 151 attempts of illegal crossing of the Polish-Belarusian border. Furthermore, two people have been detained for aiding. A Syrian citizen with Polish residence permit and a Polish citizen were waiting at the border. Most likely, they were about to pick up illegal immigrants.

On Thursday, September 2, Poland's President Andrzej Duda issued an ordinance introducing a state of emergency at the country's border with Belarus, that is in parts of Podlaskie and Lubelskie provinces. The ordinance has become effective immediately. The area encompasses 183 towns and villages (115 in Podlaskie and 68 in Lubelskie).

The state of emergency has been introduces on the government's request due to the situation at the border with Belarus.

In a village of Usnarz Górny (Podlaskie), on Belarusian side, a group of immigrant wanting to enter Poland have been camping out for three weeks now. According to Polish authorities, these and other people have been brought to the border by Belarusian services as part of a "hybrid warfare".