On Tuesday the mayor of Asotthalom, a small town on the Hungarian-Serbian border, posted a video message where he warned that anyone who attempted to illegally cross into the country would end up in prison.
“In Hungary starting September 15, crossing the border illegally will be a crime,” Laszlo Toroczkai said.
He added that 600 soldiers had worked on the fence, and another 500 will be deployed later in the day and 700 more over the weekend.
Hungary, which has been the transit route for over 180,000 migrants this year, has built a 3.5-meter fence on its border with Serbia and implemented a raft of immigration laws to clamp down on migration. This has diverted the flow of migrants toward Croatia and Slovenia.
Hungarian police said about 500 migrants had been detained after crossing into the southern part of the country from Croatia on Thursday.
Viktor Orban warned that he would have to use the army as well to protect its borders.
