Minister of Citizen Protection in a Parliamentary reply in August 2012 to justify the transfer of 1,881 border guards along the Greek Turkish land border (See Ministry of Citizen Protection (2012b). They were assigned border management duties, and part of the staff were assigned reception and screening duties, including asylum management and informing irregular immigrants about their rights. The operation was reinforced with other technical means, such as tanker truck vehicles, thermal cameras with night vision, police dogs and boats. Until 2013, the total cost would be 24 million euros co-funded by the EU External Borders Fund and the Greek state (Angeli, et al., 2014).62 Furthermore, the government increased passport controls and upgraded technologically the harbours of Patra and Igoumenitsa (in western Greece) targeting transit migrants seeking to leave for Italy by ferryboat. In this context, most discussions of migration became marked by a toxic combination of securitization and racism (Dalakoglou, 2013). Politicians of all stripes blamed irregular migrants for rising crime, urban degradation, and widespread economic hardship endured by citizens. In the lead-up to the May and June 2012 national elections, immigration detention and border control more generally, became a lightning rod for public opinion, deployed as a cynical political tool to demonstrate the government’s determination to salvage Greek national pride (Karamanidou, 2014). In March 2012, Mr Chrisochoidis, Minister of Citizen Protection, referring to the large sweep operation that was underway in the centre of Athens, which aimed to remove undocumented migrants from squats or unlawfully rented apartments, he claimed that it was an operation that sought to relieve the city centre, bring back order and protect social peace. After all, he went on, ‘in the same buildings Greeks and legal aliens, working people who have children, live and that causes issues especially for public health’ (Naftemporiki, 2012a). While such operations were generally welcomed, even by the Mayor of Athens, they were criticised as moves to attract voters before the elections. The same day, the President of New Democracy, the party aspiring to become the next government said that ‘our cities have been seized by illegal immigrants, and we must take them back’. ‘They have filled up spaces in primary schools and Greeks cannot access them. This will stop’, he said From 2007 to 2013, EUR 250.178,433 were allocated to Greece through the External Borders Fund alone to fence the Greek-Turkish land border i.e., almost 16% of the available EBF grant allocations in Europe. If we include the cost of the Evros fence and the Frontex operational contribution, as well as Greece’s return and detention policies the total budget is much higher. For EBF grant allocations see European Court of Auditors (2014). 62 100