According to a media report, the federal government recorded more than 4,700 deportations in the first three months of this year. This is an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the previous year. However, many planned repatriations failed.
According to a media report, the number of deportations in Germany rose by more than a third in the first quarter of the current year. A total of 4,791 people without residence status had been deported from Germany by the end of March, reports New Osnabrück Newspaper (NOZ), citing a response from the federal government to a request from the Left.
Compared to the same period last year, this represents an increase of around 34 percent. Between January and March 2023, 3,566 foreigners were deported. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there were 16,430 deportations from Germany in 2023 as a whole.
More than 7,000 planned returns failed
According to the report, North Macedonia was in first place in the return of nationals between January and March 2024. Of those deported, 483 came from the Balkan state. Turkey ranked second, with 449 citizens being returned there. This was followed by Georgia (416), Afghanistan (345) and Serbia (312).
However, deportations often do not take place. In the first quarter of the current year, 7,048 planned repatriations failed. According to the NOZ, the majority of those affected could no longer be found or flights were canceled. Medical reasons played a role much less frequently.
The so-called Repatriation Improvement Act, which came into force at the end of February, is unlikely to have a significant impact on the statistics for the first quarter. It contains numerous regulations to prevent rejected asylum seekers from evading forced repatriation. This includes extending the period of detention pending departure from ten to 28 days.
In addition, the police are allowed to enter rooms other than those of the person concerned in order to arrest a person who lives in shared accommodation and is to be deported.
Left-wing politician accuses government of “deportation mania”
The left-wing politician Clara Bünger, who made the request according to the NOZ, accused the federal government of “deportation mania”. “The moral inhibitions seem to be disappearing on the authorities’ side,” she told the newspaper.
In addition, the number of deportations is increasing, although there are fewer and fewer people required to leave the country. Refugees have to fear “being forced back against their will to countries where they are threatened with war, arbitrary detention, torture, extreme poverty or a lack of prospects.”