Germany has problems with expulsion of denied asylum seekers

It was a brutal act that shocked all of Germany. On January 25, 2023, a man stabbed with no cause for passengers on a regional train between Kiel and Hamburg near the town of Brookstedt. Suspected author Ibrahim A., a 33-year-old Palestinian with no citizenship, convicted of many criminal acts, killed a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old, injured several more people. Interior Minister Nancy Fyser (SPD) asked on the case of the crime site's visit: “How is it possible that such a condemned person is still in Germany?”

What exactly does expulsion mean?

Foreigners who have no right to stay in Germany in principle may be expelled because their demand for asylum has been refused. Exile is also spoken of in cases when a foreigner committed a crime or, for example, is a member of a terrorist organization. Such individuals can be arrested and then returned to their countries of origin primarily by plane. They are responsible for the expulsions.

But Ibrahim A. He was not expelled, although he had previously called attention to other crimes and had been released from custody just prior to the crime he suspected. Reason: Ibrahim A. It comes from the Gaza Strip. In this case, there must be a country that would be willing to accept. This state is missing in the case of people without citizenship,” is written for DW migration researcher Gerald Knaus.

Government offensive for repatriation

Government Coalition Parties The SPD, the Green and the FDP have envisioned in their governing programme a <x0fensive repatriation”. Above all, criminals and so-called persons “risking” must be expelled more quickly from the country.

But warnings were not respected in the work, says Andrea Lindholz, an expert on the internal affairs of the secular party CSU. In a statement to the DW it underlines: “Ophensiva announced to repatriation on the part of the government is a mockery”.

At the end of last year, according to official figures, 304,308 persons have been registered who have to leave Germany. The federal Interior Ministry announced that 12,945 people were expelled last year. Most of those expelled come from Georgia, Albania, Serbia, Moldova and Pakistan. A year ago, 11.982 were deported. In 2019, the number of outcasts was 22,000, almost twice as high.

The ruling parties have actually done almost nothing”, CSU MP Lindholz criticises. Punishments are truly difficult for individuals in question. But these cases are a “necessary consequence of our asylum rights and attitude”.

The politician of the left, Clara Bünger, on the other hand, is concerned because the affected are very often expelled to countries where there is war, political pressure, or poverty. In the daily expulsion, there is always police violence, humiliation and handcuffs”, Bünger adds.

Government to sign agreement for repatriation

The government claims it wants to expel people more quickly and consistently. There is now an office and a certain person. Former Minister of Integration of Northern Renania North Westphalia, Joachim Stamp (FDP), took the post of special representative for migration arrangements on February 1st. The new office is in the Ministry of Interior. In a press release, he suggests: “Anyone who wants to work in Germany must be given real opportunities”. Criminals and dangerous people, on the other hand, would have to be deported. For this it is necessary to establish “practical and partnership-based agreements with important countries of origin”.

Migration researcher Gerald Knaus considers the new office a good idea. “Focusing on all riskers and offenders who can be deported” is an ambitious job, Knaus says in an interview for DW. However, equally important is the “formation of European coalitions” for this purpose.

Many European countries are at the limit of opportunity because a large number of asylum seekers have arrived. In addition, four million people have fled Ukraine to EU countries to seek war protection in their homeland.

The EU also wants to expel people faster. Throughout the European Union, only every fifth foreign person without right has been expelled last year. “We have a very low return rate and I see that we can make significant progress here”, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johannesson said recently.

One of the main reasons for slow deportation are problems with countries of origin, which do not want to accept their citizens again, Johansson said. It wants to exert more pressure on countries of origin. Debts are difficult “because other countries need to co-operate and often have no interest in doing so,” migration researcher Knaus told DW. The Balkan states, as well as Moldova and Georgia, co-operated very well, Knaus says, because they did not want their citizens to be stripped of visa-free movement status for the EU.

EU to Increase Pressure

According to an EU document, visa policy is “one of the most important instruments for improving co-operation with third countries in the field of return and re-admission”. This could mean, for example, that the deadline for processing visa applications from countries that are unwilling to accept outcasts is extended, or visa fees increase. Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are considered black sheep in the matter.

Such countries often do not issue documents to their citizens, or know EU documents. So return is practically impossible. The EU has already taken a tougher approach to issuing visas to the citizens of Bangladesh, Iraq, Gambis and Senegal. According to the EU, pressure can also increase through reducing economic aid to non-co-operative countries. But German Interior Minister Nancy Fyser said against this, which has triggered criticism of the opposition. “Faeser speaks of the expulsions in Berlin, but blocks them in Brussels”, CSU's DW exhibit, Lindholz, told DW.

The suspected athlete on the German regional train could not be expelled from the country, though he has already made a knife attack. But the question of Interior Minister Faeser: “Why are people who are so violent still here in Germany? The expectations of the new government representative for migration, Joachim Stamp, are high, that criminals and persons endangered by terrorist ideas will be more consistently expelled in the future. / DW