Germany’s interior minister announced on Thursday that the number of people expelled at the country’s land borders had risen by 45% in the past week, following the government’s increase in border controls.

Speaking at a border location in Bavaria, which shares a border with Austria, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt explained that 739 attempts at “illegal entry” had been stopped, a significant jump from the 511 expulsions recorded the previous week.

He emphasized that “vulnerable groups” would still be permitted to apply for asylum, and noted that Germany was collaborating with other EU nations to reform the union’s asylum system to eventually eliminate the need for internal border checks.