The Bundestag has passed a new law to simplify deportations of those required to leave the country. An overview shows what will change in the future.
The most important things at a glance
With the votes of the traffic light factions, the Bundestag has passed a law for more and faster deportations of rejected asylum seekers. In particular, it stipulates that those required to leave the country can be detained for longer and that the police are given more rights during searches.
Last year the number of asylum seekers increased significantly and accommodation became scarce in many municipalities. The federal government is responding to this situation with its decision. The most important things at a glance:
What exactly has the federal government decided?
The so-called Return Improvement Act includes around 40 individual measures. Among other things, the police are now allowed to search for documents and data relating to the identity of the person concerned, for example in order to determine their home country. In addition, officials in shared accommodation are now allowed to search rooms other than the room of the person required to leave the country. The authorities should also be allowed to read the cell phone data of people without papers in order to determine their identity.
In addition, the authorities should be given more time to prepare for a deportation. The Bundestag also wants to prevent those to be deported from “going into hiding”. In order to achieve this, the traffic light extends the maximum duration of immigration detention from the current 10 to 28 days. The authorities also no longer have to inform those in custody of their deportation. The current one-month notice requirement for deportations after a year of toleration is no longer applicable. In addition, the police can now deport people seeking asylum if they have committed anti-Semitic crimes or entered the country with false documents.
What short-term changes were there?
The Bundestag briefly removed the bill from the agenda in the last week of the session before Christmas because the Greens had called for improvements. At her insistence, those required to leave the country should now be provided with a lawyer. Parliament has also fundamentally ruled out detention pending deportation for families with underage children.
In addition, the law provides for tougher action against smugglers. Due to protests from human rights organizations, a subsequently inserted passage is intended to ensure that the sea rescue of refugees is not criminalized.
The day before the vote, some Greens had again expressed doubts as to whether sea rescuers were sufficiently safe from being prosecuted. The Green Party’s legal policy spokesman, Helge Limburg, held out the prospect of further “clarification” in the event of legal uncertainties. Nevertheless, there were some dissenting voices from his party.
What does the government expect from this?
“Germany needs more assertiveness when it comes to repatriating those who have no right to stay,” wrote FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Platform X. “We are now creating this assertiveness.” The new law is “another component of our new realpolitik to limit illegal migration.”
Although the repatriation package includes a whole package of measures, it is unlikely to lead to a sharp increase in deportations. The draft states a figure of 600 additional returns per year.
Interior Minister Faeser expects the law to make returns “very much easier”. This will also be reflected in “significant numbers” of deportations this year.
What criticism is there?
The CDU MP Philipp Amthor spoke of a “return deterioration law” and pointed out that irregular migration was continuing to increase. The traffic light coalition is engaging in “voter deception”. This leads to “the discontent in our country continuing to rise.” The CDU therefore rejects the law: “We won’t go along with that,” said Amthor. For the AfD, the plan doesn’t go far enough either: the federal government continues to “lure” migrants “to immigrate into the German social systems,” said party leader Alice Weidel.
