DW: Germany strengthens the return of illegal migrants!

The figures presented by the Minister of the Interior of Germany, Alexander Dobrindt, are concrete. Dobrindt said a few days ago on a visit near Kiefersfelden, on Germany's border with Austria, that the number of returns of illegal migrants has increased by 45 percent. This is just a week after the start of the work of the Merz government.

739 people have returned to the border, compared to 511 deportations a week ago under the old government. 32 asylum seekers have also returned to the border, out of a total of 51 people who applied for asylum at the border. But 19 people from this group were allowed to enter Germany because they were members of vulnerable groups.

Non-symbolic border measures

Some media have written that the last Scholz government also recently made mass returns and that the current measures are symbolic. But the steps taken by the Scholz government to curb illegal migration to Germany have also been registered and mentioned in the Bundestag by conservative unionist parties.

On Friday (23.05.) it was announced that in the first three months of this year, the previous Scholz government returned 6151 illegal migrants to the border. They turned them back mainly to Turkey, Georgia, France, Spain, Serbia and Iraq.

Germany's Interior Minister Dobrindt said that the current measures are not enough for the eyes and cheeks, as he accuses the p.sh government. the ultra-right party, the AfD. This is confirmed by the fact that over 3000 police officers have been added to the border, among other things. Helicopters, drones and thermal imaging cameras have also been used to dictate illegal migrants.

The Minister of the Interior said that not every border crossing point has a police officer deployed, but it can also be deployed. This is done to disorient human traffickers.

Contacts with neighbors for the return of refugees

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a congress of his CDU party branch, in Stuttgart, on Saturday (17.05.) that he had "talked to all" neighbors. He added that "everyone knows what we are aiming for". Merz told those present: "don't let anyone tell you that this is directed against our European neighbors."

The German Chancellor emphasized that "we want to solve this problem together (with our neighbors- St. ed.), but we cannot accept that a large part of the unsolved problem arrives in the Federal Republic of Germany." An example brought by the media this week is refugees from the Middle East and Asia. These refugees p.sh. Belarus sends them to Poland, from where many then come to Germany.

And the chairman of the conservative parliamentary group, CDU/CSU in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, said on Tuesday (20.05.) that even if there were "angers" from neighbors: citizens in Germany should be able to see "satisfied, what is happening at our borders."

Pressure to reduce the number of migrants to Germany

According to recent polls, migration is a concern for Germans, but they are even more concerned about the economy.

It is a fact that many municipalities and cities in Germany complain about a lack of capacities to cope with the large number of migrants coming to Germany at the same time.

That is why Chancellor Merz declared in Stuttgart that the government will make sure that cities and municipalities have air to breathe again, and that Germany is once again an open, tolerant and foreign-friendly country.

At the same time, addressing the ultra-right AfD party, Merzi said: anyone who wants to "live and work" in Germany is welcome and "in the right place".

It is also a fact that migration as a topic is successfully used against German governments by the AfD. She repeatedly accuses German governments of not controlling the arrival of refugees in Germany. This continues, especially after the assassinations carried out by foreigners in Aschaffenburg and Munich, in January and February this year.

The AfD aims to come first in the 2029 parliamentary elections in Germany. An AfD victory, Merzi declared earlier this year, would mean "undermining Germany's democratic foundations." He recalled the coming to power of Adolf Hitler and said that for Germany it is quite "a year 1933".

Reactions to the return of migrants

Germany's neighbors such as Poland or Luxembourg, and Switzerland, have also presented reservations about the return of refugees at the border from Germany. The mayors of the German border town of Kehl and the French city of Strasbourg even sent a letter to Chancellor Merz on Wednesday (21.05.). In it, they complain that border controls feel economical and make it difficult for employees to circulate back and forth.

But other countries, including Denmark, have shown understanding for Germany's measures. However, Germany's neighboring countries have generally readmitted people who have entered Germany illegally from their territory.

Legal basis for returns of illegal migrants

Minister Dobrindt recently said in the Bundestag that the German government uses a combined legal basis for returns, based on national legislation: Article 18.2 of the German Asylum Law; combined with Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, on "the maintenance of public order and the protection of internal security". Article 72 allows member states flexibility in the application of certain EU rules, to maintain national public order and protect internal security.

It is worth noting that the European Article 72 replaces, in implementation, the well-known Dublin Directive. It is known that according to Dublin, asylum seekers must be admitted once in the country, then it must be determined which country is responsible for them. On the basis of the Dublin directive, the previous German government returned thousands of illegal migrants in the first months of this year. Solving the problem of illegal migrants remains a Europe-wide challenge. Chancellor Merz said in Stuttgart that these problems must be solved "step by step"./DW