“I would like to send a clear signal to the world and Europe that Germany’s policies have changed,” said Merz, who said.
The new German government ordered a turbulence of more illegal immigrants and asylum seekers at the border.
On the first day of the new administration, German Home Minister Alexander Dobrinz issued an order on May 7, saying he would increase the number of rejections at the border and stronger control.
“This issue is about clarity, consistency and control. We are not going to close the borders, but we are going to control the border more closely, and this powerful boundary control will also lead to more rejection,” Dobrindt said.
“We ensure that in stages more police will be deployed at the border and that these pushbacks can be carried out.”
He added that vulnerable people, including children and pregnant women, will not be denied at the German border.
“It’s a problem to start rejecting everyone tomorrow, but to reduce excessive demands, reduce numbers, and to little by little to surely refuse to send clear signals that Germany’s policies have changed and to Europe.”
The order retracted the de facto practice of 2015 under former Prime Minister Angela Merkel, allowing one million undocumented immigrants to enter Germany at the border if they advocated asylum.
At the time, the Federal Bureau of Migrants and Refugees in Germany announced in one social media post that it had suspended Dublin’s protocols. This is a rule that requires them to demand refugees in the first EU member states they set foot in.
As a result, Germany has become a first-choice destination for a significant influx of refugees from war-torn Syria. However, news about the suspension quickly spread among asylum seekers around the world, many of whom threw away their passports and entered the country.
In January, Mertz, who officially took office by the new government on Tuesday, vowed to permanent border control after a fatal knife attack in Bavaria and arrests of illegal Afghanistan immigrants.
His administration has a German (AFD) populist alternative on heels in its coalition with the Central Left SPD, promoting a stricter line on immigration and consistently votes as the country’s second most popular party.
Meltz vowed not to govern the Right-wing Party AFD. This came in second in the general election, but in doing so we will ensure a clear majority.
Last week, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency officially classified the AFD as “extremists.”
A March IPSOS survey showed that the AFD party was the first to top the polls.
The AFD has announced it is suing the country’s domestic intelligence reporting agency for categorizing it as a “right-wing extremist organization.”
Dobrindt’s policy is consistent with Europe, which is strengthening its attitude towards immigration.
Under the EU’s migration and asylum agreement, member states can enter into agreements with non-EU states to process non-EU states and sub-coast claims, and may set up processing centres in North Africa or later.
According to data from Frontex, European Borders and Coast Guard agencies, illegal immigrants enter the EU primarily via Mediterranean intersections from North Africa and through land through Poland and the Balkans.
Under pressure from parties with more harder immigration platforms, the founding party steadily abandoned its former progressive immigration stance and helped reintroduce internal border control in the free animal Schengen region.
In 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed prominent deals with non-EU countries transporting them to stop illegal immigration or immigration in those countries.
She also proposed sending people who are not entitled to stay in the EU to “return the hub” in non-EU countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali.
No such hubs have yet to be established.
