The German parliament votes in favor of a stricter immigration policy outside

“We are ensuring that people who have no right to remain in our country are forced to leave as quickly as possible,” Interior Minister Nancy Viser said. The purpose of the bill: “Deportation from the country faster and more efficiently.” The minister said this would free up resources to accommodate those who have the right to stay, such as the 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees in Germany.

Even now, some deportations fail because the person in question cannot be found or their identity is unclear. Therefore, Germany wants to simplify deportation procedures. For example, the police will now have broad powers to track down people who have to leave the country and register the identity of migrants. In addition, the maximum period of pre-deportation detention will be increased from 10 to 28 days.

But according to the German Lawyers Association (DAV, Deutsche Anwaltverein, ed.), the measures lack “proportionality.” SOS Humanity, which helps migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, said it was also shocked “by the idea that people fleeing and those providing them with humanitarian aid could be threatened with prison sentences.”

For example, tougher penalties will now be introduced for people smuggling, but organizations also fear that such penalties will cloud them because of the assistance they provide to migrants.

The government estimates that the new series of measures will lead to approximately six hundred additional deportations annually. According to official figures, Germany will register 329,120 new asylum applications in 2023.