35,000 Foreigners in Germany Await Deportation due to Threat to Public Safety and Order

In Germany, the number of deportations of foreigners has stabilised at a high level and continues to grow.  This is evidenced by the federal government's response to a request from the Die Linke group, Welt reports.

A foreigner will be deported if his or her stay threatens public safety and order, the free democratic system or other important interests of the Federal Republic of Germany. However, each individual case must be assessed. Factors such as the length of time a person has been living in Germany and whether they have family members living in Germany are taken into account.

According to the report, 4,321 people were deported in the first half of this year, most of them from Albania, Georgia, Turkey, Moldova and Algeria. In total, 8,019 deportations were reported in 2023. In 2020-2022, this figure fluctuated between 7,081 and 8,257 deportations per year.

However, not everyone who is subject to deportation is deported immediately. People who cannot be deported for practical or legal reasons are granted a temporary suspension of deportation.

It is not necessary for someone to be convicted of a crime to be deported. For example, it is sufficient that a person ‘approves or facilitates crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes or terrorist acts of comparable importance’. 

A draft bill by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which has not yet been passed by the Bundestag, would further tighten the rules.

According to the Federal Government, as of 30 June, almost 330,000 people with deportation orders were registered in the Central Register of Foreigners. However, only a small proportion of them - around 35,000 - were in Germany at the time. The rest of the deportees either left the country or were deported.

It was reported that there are currently almost 3.5 million refugees in Germany, which is a historical high for the country. Discussions about tightening deportation rules in Germany have been sparked by the recent high-profile terrorist attack in Solingen. Following this, the German government agreed on a package of measures on migration and asylum.

The leader of the opposition CDU, Friedrich Merz, called for a general ban on the admission of people from Syria and Afghanistan. SPD Secretary General Kevin Kunert and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann rejected this proposal, citing the constitution.