Germany toughens its migration policy amid a surge in the far right
The German government has announced strong measures which will tighten its migration policy.
Published on 10/18/2024 at 1:40 p.m.
German MPs adopted a bill on Friday further tightening their country’s migration policy, in a context of a surge in the far right following deadly knife attacks in recent months. To limit illegal immigration, Germany had already reinstated controls at its borders last September.
The government’s text provides here in particular the abolition of aid for asylum seekers who first entered another EU country, easier expulsion for refugees who have used weapons, or even additional powers for law enforcement.
Refugees who temporarily return to their country of origin will “generally” no longer have protection in Germany, as will those who commit anti-Semitic or homophobic crimes, according to the adopted text.
Under pressure from the left wing of her own party, Social Democratic Interior Minister Nancy Faeser nevertheless had to tone down a key measure.
A complete abolition of aid for asylum seekers who entered another EU country before coming to Germany will thus only be possible if the return of asylum seekers to this third country “is legally and actually possible “. It is also excluded in cases where children are involved.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition presented its project in August, in the wake of a triple knife murder committed by a Syrian suspected of links with the jihadist organization Islamic State during a party in the town of Solingen (west) .
In June, another knife attack, attributed to an Afghan during an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim (southwest), left one dead, a police officer who had intervened.
These tragedies fueled the progress of the far-right AfD party, hostile to migrants, which won a regional election for the first time in September and achieved historically high scores in two other regions.
The bill must still be validated on Friday by the upper house of parliament to enter into force.
