Limiting immigration “doesn’t make us inhumans,” Chancellor Scholz told “Spiegel” and called for deportations “on a large scale.” Unlimited immigration endangers the welfare state.
The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and its consequences has pushed a domestic political issue into the background: migration policy. In an interview with “Spiegel”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now quite clear about the problem. “We finally have to deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany,” the SPD politician told the news magazine. Anyone who cannot rely on reasons for protection and has no prospects of staying must leave. “We have to deport more and faster.”
“That doesn’t make us inhumans.”
Scholz sees the welfare state in danger if immigration remains unlimited. “Anyone who wants unlimited immigration must be honest enough to say that we would then not be able to maintain the welfare state we have today.” The government bears responsibility “for ensuring that our community functions”. This also includes “a certain toughness”. Limiting immigration “does not turn us into inhumans,” emphasized the Chancellor.
He told the magazine he was taking a more restrictive approach to dealing with “irregular migration.” There are refugees who are entitled to asylum, for example because they are being politically persecuted – and regardless of this, Germany is dependent on the immigration of workers.
On the other hand, that means: “If you don’t belong to one group or the other, you can’t stay with us.” Scholz emphasized: “That’s why we’re limiting irregular migration to Germany – there are too many coming.” This requires “a whole package of measures”, including the protection of Europe’s external borders and stricter controls at the borders with neighboring European countries. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (also SPD) had long resisted stationary border controls at the internal borders, but finally changed course.
Benefits in kind instead of cash
In this context, Scholz praised the plans of his traffic light government. And at the same time he sees the federal states as having a duty: it is important, for example, to create uniform and faster procedures in the federal states. “In some federal states, the first instance in deportation proceedings takes four months, in others 39.” That has to change.
In addition, the work of the immigration offices should be fully digitalized and the authorities’ availability expanded around the clock so that they can also carry out deportations. Federal states that want to reduce the incentives for irregular migration, for example through benefits in kind instead of money or through payment cards for refugees, would be supported by the federal government, explained Scholz. “We also think it’s right to offer asylum seekers community work.”
Union is putting pressure on
The Union recently increased the pressure on the federal government. She calls for an “asylum turnaround”. But there is also disagreement in the government coalition on asylum and immigration policy. The Greens in particular have been criticized for their liberal stance, especially from the FDP. The issue is likely to be on the agenda at the coalition committee this afternoon.
Scholz also recently met with the Union and state representatives in the Chancellery for top-level discussions. Before a meeting of all prime ministers with Scholz in Berlin on November 6th, concrete solutions should now be found on how to get the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees to Germany under control. Between the beginning of January and the end of September, 233,744 people in Germany applied for asylum for the first time, around 73 percent more than in the same period last year.