More and more people are crossing the border into Germany illegally – municipalities in Saxony are also sounding the alarm. They demand stationary controls at the border. But what could these achieve?
The municipality of Altenberg is located on the eastern edge of the Ore Mountains and borders directly on the Czech Republic. Tin ore mining was important there for centuries. Today the tranquil health resort is a tourist region. And: An arrival point for numerous refugees who are smuggled across the border from the Czech Republic to Saxony every day.
More and more people are trying to reach Germany via the Czech Republic or Poland. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer speaks of a dramatic increase in illegal border crossings in recent years: “We now have a situation where 400 refugees came across the Saxon borders in 2021, 2,400 in August last year and around 6,000 this August,” said the CDU politician in MDR.
The city of Altenberg wants to stop this development and is prepared to make part of the old border customs facility available for permanent border posts. This is stated in an open letter from the city administration to Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.
Mayor Wiesenberg would like to see stationary border controls, like those that have existed in Bavaria since 2015. The town of Altenberg has three border crossings, spread over a distance of around six kilometers as the crow flies. It’s commonplace to see refugees on the side of the road, he says in an interview MDR current.
Even if there has been no danger from the people so far, as no crimes have been reported, the residents are still unsettled. “It will soon become a hobby for some people to call the police and report refugees again. This cannot continue like this,” says Wiesenberg.
Altenberg’s mayor Wiesenberg calls for stationary border controls.
Increased Smuggling crime
Around 60 kilometers further downstream, Marienberg’s mayor André Heinrich (independent) is also hoping for support from the federal government and federal police. The problem of smuggling has been particularly pronounced since the beginning of August. The federal highway 174 leads in the Marienberg district of Reitzenhain directly over the border into the Czech Republic. People are dropped off in town by smugglers, wander around, stay in the forests or even on private property.
He hopes that stationary border controls will restore “orderly conditions,” says Heinrich. Even if that might mean longer waiting times at the border crossings for locals. These would have to be accepted.
Urgent help is needed, says Leipzig’s mayor and city council vice-president Burkhard Jung. The Saxon municipalities need a breathing space: “We want to help, but we are at the limit of our capacity.”
Flexible instead of stationary border controls
But stationary border controls, as requested by the federal states of Saxony, Brandenburg, and also the Union, will no longer exist. As Faeser said on Wednesday in Berlin, flexible border controls at changing locations should be aimed at combating smuggling crime. The cruel business of smugglers, “who put people’s lives at risk for maximum profit,” must be stopped, said the SPD politician. Flexible controls, which are intended to supplement the already intensified veil searches, ensure that there is as little impact as possible on commuters and trade.
Schuster hopes that Faeser will change his mind
An announcement that is likely to disappoint Saxon Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU). Just a few days before he had been in… MDR in favor of stationary border controls and hoped for a “change of heart” from the Federal Minister of the Interior. In the Deutschlandfunk He spoke of “hair-raising scenes” at the external borders of the Free State, citing as an example a 15-year-old smuggler who was caught inside a van with 27 people.
A few days ago, Faeser was fundamentally open to short-term stationary border controls on the Polish and Czech borders. “But you shouldn’t suggest that no more asylum seekers will come as soon as there are stationary border controls,” said the SPD politician. The Federal Minister of the Interior had previously rejected the Union’s demand for stationary border controls several times.
Whether the checks are carried out stationary or flexibly: those seeking protection cannot simply be turned away at a border check. According to European law, anyone who has crossed the border into Germany must be granted an asylum application.