Due to staffing shortages, Hungarian police do not monitor the 1.5km-long (1 mile) path between the border crossing and the refugee reception center. A lot of refugees choose to hide in the fields after crossing into the country, as they are unwilling to be processed in the reception center.
On Tuesday, there were around 3,000 migrants on the Hungary-Serbia border. Most of those interviewed said they intended to head to camps organized by the Hungarian authorities, however, several hundred tried to walk to Budapest but were prevented from doing so by police. Several hundred refugees also set up an unauthorized camp on the border.
Budapest estimates that over 156,000 migrants have illegally entered the country since the beginning of 2015, most of whom have attempted to travel onward in the European Union.
