V24 Exclusive: Poland resists the fallout of policies it never agreed to amid Europe’s migration crisis.
Stefan Tompson
Aug 8, 2025 - 4:11 PM
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While much of Western Europe struggles with the effects of open-border policies, Poland is standing firm both at its borders and in its streets. In Warsaw, thousands have marched, protesting not just illegal immigration but also a rapid demographic change reshaping the country’s identity.
Still considered one of Europe’s last culturally cohesive countries, Poland is changing fast.
Weaponized Migration?
In recent years, the government has issued hundreds of thousands of work visas to people from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and several African countries, on top of millions of Ukrainian refugees and workers who arrived after the 2014 conflict and the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
At the same time, Poland’s borders have faced pressure from both East and West.
In 2021, Belarus, backed by Russia, launched a coordinated hybrid attack by sending migrants from Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan to Poland’s border in an effort to destabilize NATO’s eastern flank and test the EU's resolve. In response, Poland constructed a 186-kilometer barrier equipped with cameras, AI sensors, and military surveillance. While Brussels hesitated, Poland held the line, saving the EU from a further influx without receiving any compensation. Nonetheless, despite these enhanced security measures, migrants continue to attempt crossings from Belarus into Poland.
Now, pressure is also coming from the opposite direction. After years of championing open-border policies, Germany is reversing its migration stance and quietly offloading migrants onto its neighbors. This quiet export of Berlin’s crisis is a burden Warsaw never agreed to bear.
Rising Crime
The consequences of mass migration have already turned deadly. In the city of Torun, 24-year-old Klaudia was brutally raped and stabbed by a Venezuelan migrant who attempted to blind her so she couldn’t testify. She died two weeks later in agony. In another case, a 41-year-old Polish man was fatally stabbed by a Colombian national in the town of Nowa Sól.
And these are not isolated incidents. According to various news agencies, hundreds of Polish women have reported sexual assaults by foreign Uber drivers. Much like in cities across Western Europe, the rise in sexual violence has accompanied a rapid influx of foreign men with little cultural or legal alignment to their host society.
It’s not just safety that’s at risk, economic pressures are growing as well. Low-wage foreign workers are driving down wages and taking jobs from Polish workers who are already struggling. Activist groups pushing for open borders say they support the working class, but their policies are actually making things harder for native workers. As seen in cities like London and Paris, the influx of cheap labor primarily benefits the elites.
No Colonial Debt
Poland has no colonial past to justify bearing the costs of mass migration. Unlike France or Britain, it never ruled empires or exploited distant continents. On the contrary, Poland was a victim of imperial powers. The idea that migration is a moral debt owed by “the West” simply doesn’t apply here.
Poland’s stance on migration is shaped by its long history of foreign domination. For more than a century, it was partitioned and erased from the map by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. In 1939, it was brutally invaded by Nazi Germany, and after the war, it spent decades behind the Iron Curtain under Soviet control. It wasn’t until the fall of communism in 1989 that Poland finally had a chance to chart its own path.
Since then, it has made remarkable progress, transforming itself into one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, characterized by rising wages, falling poverty rates, and the return of millions of emigrants. This is a hard-earned success story. Why should a nation that fought fiercely to regain its sovereignty now be compelled to accept a wave of migrants it never consented to, particularly from Germany that once occupied it by force?
Poland’s Path Forward
In a recent interview with V24, former Prime Minister and current ECR leader Mateusz Morawiecki outlined his vision for Poland should Law and Justice return to power. Central to his plan is the creation of a new Ministry for Illegal Immigration, charged with deporting undocumented migrants within 72 hours. “There will be clamor in Berlin and Brussels,” he warned, “but Poland will not pay the price for EU stupidity.”
This proposal goes beyond election rhetoric. It draws on Morawiecki’s extensive experience in crisis management, from confronting hybrid attacks along the Belarusian border to steering Poland through one of Europe’s most substantial economic recoveries.
While awaiting decisive state action, ordinary citizens - farmers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers - have begun forming volunteer patrols along the western border to intercept German police offloading illegal migrants onto Polish soil under cover of the night. These are not radicals; they are everyday Poles stepping in where the government has been too slow to act. Their message is simple: if the state won’t defend the homeland, the people will.
