Germany bemoans Swiss-transited asylum seekers

German officials have complained that the border with Switzerland has more holes than a “Swiss cheese” as asylum seekers head north across the Alps, despite the best efforts of Swiss border guards to intercept them. Some 2,300 people without papers entered Germany across the Swiss border between January and June, according to official German statistics quoted by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. But German states bordering Switzerland believe that the true figure is much higher. Frank Hämmerle, president of the German border city of Konstanz, estimates that 10 to 20 illegal immigrants come over from northeastern Switzerland every day – up to 600 per month at just one crossing point. Helmut Mutter, police spokesman for the town of Weil am Rhein, compared the border from Basel with the holes in Swiss cheese because the situation is so desperate. Asylum seekers, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, are apparently paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to transit ...