The German Ministry of the Interior unexpectedly announced today (Tuesday) the resumption of police presence at all of the country’s land borders, “in an attempt to reduce illegal immigration.” Until now, entry into Germany by train and other land transport has been largely free, with the exception of occasional checks, as part of free movement in the Schengen area. The new move is an “emergency measure” declared for six months and will be valid at all nine of Germany’s land borders.
The German government is under tremendous pressure from the public to deal with the issue of illegal immigration to the country. Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers have entered Germany in the past year, a record number since the refugee crisis of 2015, and the backlash includes the strengthening of right and left populist parties that promise to fight immigration as well as the issue being at the top of the citizens’ political agenda.
In the regional elections that took place about a week ago in two regional states, the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which opposes immigration, won a third of the votes, and it is expected to also star in the local elections in the regional state of Brandenburg in less than two weeks.
sweeping step
As a result, and following a terrorist attack in the city of Solingen last month in which three people were murdered by a Syrian asylum seeker whose request was rejected, the German government is trying to find ways to fight illegal immigration. Among other things, it is proposed to ease the conditions for the deportation of those whose asylum applications have been rejected, it is proposed to fight crime that originates from the origin of immigration, as defined by the media, and now the government has decided to return the presence of police officers to the land borders of Germany – a step that has not been carried out in such a sweeping manner since the Corona crisis .
The measure means that German police officers will be able to prevent entry from asylum seekers who have already registered in other European countries, as stipulated by the Dublin Convention. In 2015, the treaty was suspended, which caused more than a million people to pass through the open borders to Germany, but now the German “appetite” for illegal immigration has been reduced to zero, and the new step marks a change in direction on the issue. It is not clear how the return will be done, since the convention requires “consultation” with the first European country where the asylum seekers were registered.
“We want to further reduce irregular immigration,” said Interior Minister Nancy Pazar, “and that is why we are taking additional steps beyond those that currently exist. Until we succeed in bringing about good protection of the external borders of the European Union… we must increase the control of national borders. They will allow us to make an effective return.”
Protest in Austria
The move sparked an immediate protest in Austria, which until now has been a “transit country” for asylum seekers on their way to Germany, and may now face thousands of illegal immigrants who will remain in its territory and unable to enter Germany. In the past year, similar measures, announced among other things following security concerns, the Euro Games and the Olympics, made it possible to return 30,000 people to Austria. The Austrian chancellor threatened in response today not to allow entry to those who are rejected by Germany, and this may lead to a crisis in the relations between the countries.
At the same time, the German government is trying to initiate a “summit of the fight against illegal immigration” together with the conservative party (CDU) from the opposition. The party, which is leading in the polls, wants to apply annual immigration quotas and deport asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected relatively easily, without the extensive protection they now enjoy. She also demands to reduce the social rights they receive, such as free health insurance for the whole family, financial assistance, child allowances, rent payment and more. The two sides still disagree on many issues.
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