Migrants stuck in Greece grow to 57,458, on a technicality

Afghan migrants stranded in Greece, pray in front of a docked ferry at the port of Piraeus , near Athens on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday, June 6, 2016. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

Afghan migrants stranded in Greece, pray on a dock at the port of Piraeus, near Athens on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Monday, June 6, 2016. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

The number of refugees and other migrants trapped in Greece has grown in a day by about 5,000 to 57,458 after officials started counting people in a U.N. housing program.

Most have been stuck in the financially struggling country since a series of Balkan border closures stopped migratory flows from Turkey to Europe's prosperous heartland.

Greek immigration officials said Tuesday that they started including in their daily reports 5,700 people in rented accommodation arranged by the U.N. refugee agency for greater accuracy.

The Balkan border controls, and an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to return migrants reaching Greece illegally from the Turkish coast, have radically reduced migrant arrivals in Greece.

More than 1 million people entered the country from Turkey in just over a year before the deal.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/migrants-stuck-in-greece-grow-to-57458-on-a-technicality