Preventing and combating illegal entry and exit and violations of border regulations.
Tasked with managing and protecting 468,281 km of land border and 82 km of coastline, the Nghe An Border Guard Command has proactively coordinated with local authorities and functional forces to strengthen patrol and control work along the border over the years. Through this, they have combated and prevented illegal entry and exit activities and violations of border regulations.
Blocking illegal immigration and emigration networks.
The land border area of Nghe An province has 1 international border gate, 1 main border gate, 3 sub-border gates, 4 border crossings, and many other border crossing points. The rugged mountainous terrain provides favorable conditions for illegal immigrants to operate with sophisticated and daring methods to evade authorities.
For example, at 8:00 AM on November 29, 2024, at the exit procedures area of the Nam Can International Border Gate Border Guard Station (Ky Son district), the duty team of the Nam Can International Border Gate Border Guard Station detected three Chinese citizens with suspicious signs related to illegal entry and exit. All three individuals were using ordinary passports and separate visas (with entry stamps from Noi Bai International Airport) to complete exit procedures to Laos at the Nam Can International Border Gate.
Through investigative measures, border guards identified three individuals: Wu Liang Tuan (born 1977), Huang MingGru (born 1978), Lu Li Cheng (born 1987), and two other individuals traveling together in the car, Chen Chung Sen (born 1969), a Chinese national, and TVD (born 1988), residing in Ninh Binh district (a taxi driver), as having violated the law.
After initiating criminal proceedings against Chen Chung Sen for the act of "Organizing illegal entry and exit of others into Vietnam" as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 348 of the Penal Code, the Border Guard handed over the case to the Nghe An Provincial Police for further investigation and expansion.
According to Major Le Anh Cuong, Deputy Head of Operations at the Nam Can International Border Gate Border Guard Station: In 2024, the unit detected 22 cases/38 individuals engaging in illegal entry and exit (an increase of 11 cases/22 individuals compared to the same period in 2023); and 35 cases/48 individuals entering without presenting passports or travel documents (an increase of 11 cases/31 individuals compared to the same period in 2023).
According to authorities, many individuals have exploited the difficult living conditions and lack of legal knowledge of people in border areas who are familiar with the terrain, hiring them as guides. Driven by greed, some people in border areas have assisted in smuggling people across the border or organizing their illegal stay in Vietnam.
Typically in 2024, during a patrol and inspection of the area along National Highway 16, in Na Nieng village, Tri Le commune, Que Phong district, the Tri Le Border Guard Post, the Anti-Drug and Crime Prevention Department (Nghe An Border Guard), Que Phong District Police, and Tri Le Commune Police discovered 10 people carrying many household items, intending to go to southern provinces for work, and exhibiting suspicious behavior.
Upon inspection, eight Lao nationals (four adults and four children) were found without identification documents or entry/exit papers. Investigations revealed that Xong Ba Tong (born in 1999, residing in Muong Long village, Tri Le commune, Que Phong district) was the organizer of the illegal stay of these Lao citizens in Vietnam, charging 1.5 million VND per adult (children were free).
Shortly thereafter, the Tri Le Border Guard Station, Nghe An Border Guard Command, issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Xong Ba Tong for the act of organizing for others to stay in Vietnam illegally for illicit gain.
Currently, following the Lunar New Year holiday, due to job demand, the situation regarding people in border areas attempting to illegally cross the border for labor is becoming increasingly complex. Besides strengthening patrols and controls, border guard units have closely coordinated with local authorities to organize numerous awareness campaigns in both ethnic languages and standard Vietnamese to improve compliance with border regulations, implement the signing of commitments by people to refrain from illegal entry and exit and to avoid assisting in such activities; and help people clearly identify the tactics of those involved in brokering and organizing illegal labor migration, as well as the risks and legal consequences of illegal entry and exit.
Preventing border regulation violations
Despite the synchronized implementation of various solutions, due to the province's unique characteristics—27 border communes in 6 districts bordering 3 provinces of Laos: Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang, and Bolikhamsai—and the predominantly ethnic minority population with limited education levels and awareness of law compliance, violations of border regulations resulting in administrative penalties, as well as illegal migration and return, still frequently occur annually, especially among the Hmong people.
In 2024, the province discovered 3 households/15 people residing in Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district, who had migrated to Bolikhamsai and Xieng Khouang provinces; and 1 household/3 people who returned to live in Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district.
In the maritime border area, border guards regularly coordinate with other functional forces to patrol, control, and penalize violations in the field of national border management and protection, as well as in the fisheries sector.
In 2024, authorities detected 5 instances of fishing vessels from Nghe An province violating foreign waters; 718 fishing vessels lost connection to their vessel tracking devices. Several activities... Violations of IUU fishing regulations, such as the use of electric shock devices and prohibited fishing gear, were also detected and dealt with severely.
Typically, in November 2024, the Quynh Phuong Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard Command) discovered three fishing vessels belonging to Mr. HMH, Mr. NVT, and Mr. TQH (all residing in Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town) that failed to maintain the transmission of information from the vessel tracking system (VMS) as required for fishing vessels with a maximum length of 15m to under 24m, and did not comply with inspections and controls by competent authorities.
Based on legal regulations, the Provincial Border Guard Command issued administrative penalties totaling 154.5 million VND per case against the three aforementioned fishing vessel owners. Of this amount, 150 million VND was for failing to maintain communication with the vessel monitoring system. In addition, two other vessel owners, Mr. PVM and Mr. NVH (both residing in Quynh Phuong ward), were also fined 158 million VND each for similar violations. Besides the fines, the captains of these fishing vessels also had their captain's licenses and certificates revoked for 7.5 months.
Along with patrolling, monitoring, detecting, and strictly handling violations, the units under the Nghe An Border Guard Command also pay attention to disseminating information and mobilizing people on both sides of the border to comply well with legal documents on the management and protection of the national border.
In 2024, the entire force coordinated and organized 578 concentrated propaganda sessions/57,495 listeners; 799 broadcasts via loudspeakers/1,332 villages and hamlets; 198 mobile propaganda sessions/720 hours; displayed 72 billboards and posters; and distributed 3,500 leaflets. In coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), they organized expanded communication on preventing and combating illegal migration to Australia by sea in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district, with 8 small group communication sessions and 2 large-scale communication sessions, involving over 600 students and local residents.
Many effective models for preventing and combating illegal migration and entry/exit have been implemented, such as the crime reporting mailbox model; self-governing groups along the border and at border markers in villages; self-governing boat teams on rivers and streams; and solidarity groups of boats and ships, and safe docks and harbors, all of which are maintained and operate effectively.
Currently, the province has 114 self-governing groups with 822 members participating in border and boundary marker management; 1,060 self-governing groups with 19,414 members managing security and order in villages and hamlets; 100 solidarity groups for boats and ships, with 858 vessels/4,984 members; and 17 safe wharves and docks.
Thanks to effective public awareness campaigns, many households and individuals regularly engaged in business and production in border areas have become "eyes and ears," promptly detecting and providing functional forces with information related to territorial encroachment, violations of border regulations, and illegal entry and exit.
To enhance the effectiveness of combating illegal immigration and unauthorized migration, the Nghe An Border Guard Command has determined to continue coordinating with functional forces and local Party committees and authorities to strengthen propaganda and mobilization efforts to raise awareness and responsibility among the people in implementing the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws and regulations, and relevant international treaties.
