Status: 05.03.2023 4:13 p.m
Only about a third of all rejected asylum seekers were deported in 2022. The Union criticizes the return policy of the traffic light – and presents its own position paper on migration.
Around two thirds of the deportations of asylum seekers from Germany fail. According to the federal government, 12,945 deportations were carried out last year. However, 23,337 deportation measures could not have been carried out. This emerges from a response from the federal government to a question from the Union faction in the Bundestag, from which the “Welt am Sonntag” quotes. Reasons for the failed deportations were, among other things, canceled flights or the absence of the people concerned on the day of departure.
criticism from the opposition
The Union’s domestic policy spokesman in the Bundestag, Alexander Throm, told the newspaper: “Germany is in the worst migration crisis since 2016. A successful repatriation policy must be a priority in the federal and state governments.” Throm accused the traffic light coalition of not having implemented any of their “repatriation offensive”.
He referred to the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. It says: “Not every person who comes to us can stay. We are launching a repatriation offensive to implement departures more consistently, in particular the deportation of criminals and people who are dangerous.” As of December 31, according to the Central Register of Foreigners, there were a total of 304,308 people in Germany who were legally obliged to leave the country, of which 248,145 had a Duldung.
Merz complains about “dramatic situation”
CDU leader Friedrich Merz accused the traffic light coalition of systematically mixing asylum and labor market policies. “The federal government obviously does not want to admit how dramatic the situation is in many municipalities in Germany.” The Union is committed to Germany’s humanitarian responsibility for those seeking protection, said Merz.
“At the same time, we are proposing a bundle of national, European and international measures to control and limit irregular migration.” Among other things, a crisis and coordination staff should be set up in the Chancellery. Merz is also inviting around 700 mayors and district administrators to Berlin at the end of March to discuss the problems of housing refugees with them.
Union position paper
According to the will of the Christian Democrats, asylum procedures should be clearly separated from immigration procedures for skilled workers in the future. The head of the Union parliamentary group has presented a position paper on this. The aim is to regulate the immigration of foreign skilled workers to Germany with a separate federal agency for immigration.
“In this way, skilled workers receive service from a single source: from job placement, checking the requirements for entry, to the necessary visa and the residence permit after arrival in Germany,” the paper says.
Traffic light plans
The traffic light coalition also wants to fill the growing gap in skilled workers with many more workers from abroad. Unlike today, more non-EU citizens should be allowed to enter the country without a recognized qualification. Selection criteria should be professional experience or a connection to Germany.
Probably the biggest change is to enable “third-country nationals with good potential” to enter the country to look for a job. A chance card is to be awarded for this. For two weeks, non-EU citizens should be able to do a trial job while looking for a job. There has been a Skilled Immigration Act since 2020. Skilled workers with foreign vocational training are given the right to stay in Germany for six months to look for a job.