Representing an unprecedented influx, upwards of one million migrants entered Greece seeking asylum in the European Union between 2015 and 2016, peaking with the arrival of over 200,000 refugees in October 2015. Contributing factors include the escalation of the Syrian civil war and the subsequent closing of the Jordanian and Turkish borders with Syria. EU member states adopted a variety of policy responses. Balkan states were unable to control the migration via administrative mechanisms, opting to open a route deeper into Europe. In August 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the German border to asylum-seekers, voluntarily waiving the Dublin Regulation. The 2015 Paris attacks further polarized member state positions on the refugee situation. The Greek government lacked the capacity to process the arriving migrants, and under pressure from the European Commission, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos allowed Frontex to assist with border management and established "hotspots" for processing refugees. It is proposed that this approach ensures the safety of local populations and migrants, by creating safer travel paths into Europe while tightly controlling where they can go. In practice, these administrative solutions have created new dangers for migrants, allowing deportation to unsafe countries and enabling their indefinite detention under poor and sometimes dangerous conditions in official camps.