Finland has created a new law allowing the imprisonment of illegal migrants.

The law specifically targets migrants who enter the country after they were given an “entry ban,” according to the Finnish Ministry of Justice.

“The President of the Republic today adopted amendments to the law by which a new provision on violation of the ban on entry is added,” said the Ministry. “To date, violation of the prohibition has generally led to fines for foreigners offenses.”

“In the future, the punishment for breach of the ban shall be fines or imprisonment for a maximum of one year.”

Additionally, the law is effective at the start of 2019 and authorities expect it to discourage further illegal movement into the country.

This legal maneuver against the surge of migrants comes after Finland’s Immigration Service (Migri) admitted they couldn’t identify almost half of the migrants applying for asylum.

"People who are fleeing do not have the possibility of leaving with the required documents in their pockets,” said a Migri official. “Some of them come from countries that don't even have passport systems.”

Correspondingly, it is unclear if the country has enough prison space to honor the new law as Migri is on record demanding more funding to construct additional facilities for migrants.

(PHOTO: Markku Ulander / Staff / Getty Images)