Turkey Detains Over 42,000 Afghan Migrants in 2025, Leading Among Foreign Arrests
Turkey’s Immigration Department has announced that during the year 2025, tens of thousands of illegal Afghan migrants have been detained by the country’s security forces, placing Afghans at the top of the list of foreign detainees.
According to reports from Turkish media, a total of 152,331 illegal migrants were arrested across Turkey this year. Among them, 42,202 were Afghan citizens and 21,117 were Syrian nationals, representing the highest number of arrests.
Following this list, citizens from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran were also among those detained for illegal migration in Turkey. Turkish officials also stated that during the same period, 10,883 individuals were arrested on charges of human trafficking by the country’s security forces.
The increase in arrests of Afghan migrants in Turkey is reported amid a widespread wave of forced returns of migrants from neighboring countries to Afghanistan. Previously, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations under the Taliban administration announced that since the beginning of this year, more than 1,821,000 people have been returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey.
However, civil organizations and some residents have repeatedly warned that the Taliban administration lacks a clear and effective plan for the absorption, settlement, and support of returnees. This situation could exacerbate unemployment, poverty, and social instability in various regions of Afghanistan.
