Deportations | Continuity and escalation

Deportations have been a constant political issue in Germany for years. The trend is clear: tougher laws and more deportations. Then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced this course in the "Spiegel" magazine in the fall of 2023: " We must finally deport on a large scale ." The following year, the "Ampel" coalition government passed significant tightening measures with its " Repatriation Improvement Act ." These included longer detention pending departure, nighttime home searches, fewer announcements of the measures, and shorter deadlines for filing legal action.

The number of deportations had already risen steadily under the traffic light coalition. In 2021, almost 11,900 people were deported; in the first year of the traffic light coalition, 2022, the number had already risen to around 13,000, and in 2023, 16,400. Last year, after the introduction of the so-called Repatriation Improvement Act, 20,084 people were deported, including 2,316 minors (11.5 percent).

The CDU, under current Chancellor Friedrich Merz, successfully campaigned on the issues of tightening asylum laws and deportations. The laws now planned by the CDU/CSU coalition further tighten the line of the previous government. For example, detention for so-called dangerous individuals and criminals is to be made permanent. The requirement for legal representation in detention pending deportation and detention pending departure, introduced by the "Ampel" coalition, is to be abolished.

In addition to the measures already mentioned, the government under Friedrich Merz plans to determine safe countries of origin by legal decree instead of parliamentary resolutions. This would enable countries to be classified as safe more quickly, which should lead to a reduction in the number of asylum seekers. Critics, however, fear that this would restrict the rights of those affected and undermine democratic control, since the government itself, rather than parliament, would be able to decide what constitutes a safe country of origin.

In this context, continued returns to Syria and Afghanistan are also planned, despite human rights organizations pointing to massive dangers for deportees there. To ensure future deportations to Afghanistan, the government intends to cooperate specifically with the Taliban.

The border controls at Germany's borders are exemplary of a pattern of continuity and escalation in the government's current policy. The border controls were already introduced under the "traffic light" coalition in the fight against so-called illegal migration. Asylum seekers who were already registered in another EU member state were rejected under the European Dublin III Regulation. However, under the current government, there is an increasing trend toward blanket rejections without examining individual jurisdiction. Following a lawsuit filed by three Somali asylum seekers, the Berlin District Court declared the blanket rejection of asylum seekers unlawful in an expedited procedure at last instance – the minister is continuing the measures despite the ruling.

Tareq Alaows, refugee policy spokesperson for the human rights organization Pro Asyl, summarized this in an interview with "nd" as follows: "One gets the feeling that the federal government is no longer adhering to the law." The severity of the deportations has reached a new level. Families are being separated without consideration or deported without warning. Police violence and deportations despite ongoing proceedings have occurred before, but "the extent has become much greater." Alaows fears that this endangers democracy and the rule of law.