Polish police probe vigilante patrols targeting foreigners at Warsaw station

WARSAW — Polish police have launched an investigation after vigilante patrols were filmed questioning foreigners at Warsaw’s main railway station amid heightened tensions over migration.Videos circulating on social media over the weekend showed men wearing military-style clothing patrolling Warsaw Central railway station and approaching people who appeared to be foreign nationals.Police said they were investigating the matter and stressed that only authorized services have the right to conduct identity checks. No arrests have been reported so far.“Anyone who impersonates a public official and, for example, checks the IDs of foreigners will be detained and held legally accountable,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.The incident comes amid heightened tensions over migration in Poland following the implementation of the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into force on Friday.Poland’s Interior Ministry has rejected claims circulating on social media that owners of homes larger than 60 square meters could be required to house migrants.“Neither local governments nor state services will direct migrants to private apartments or houses,” the ministry said in a statement.“Around migration and Poland’s security, a lot of emotions have surfaced in recent days, particularly on the right side of the political scene. The internet is also full of information that has little to do with facts,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka said on the social media platform X.The new EU pact, agreed in 2024 and fully applied from this month, introduces common border screening procedures, faster asylum processing, expanded biometric registration through the Eurodac database and a mechanism allowing member states to either relocate asylum seekers, provide financial contributions or offer operational support to countries facing disproportionate migration pressure.Warsaw remains skeptical of certain elements of the system and insists it will not be compelled to accept relocated migrants under any mechanism it considers contrary to Polish national interests.Tusk’s government has also repeatedly argued that Poland’s role in hosting millions of Ukrainians since the outbreak of the war should be taken into account when implementing European migration policy.