Germany is tightening its migration policy. Migrants will be turned away at the border

Germany's new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has ordered an immediate tightening of migration policy, which includes stricter controls at all of Germany's land borders. As part of the measures, it has been decided that migrants wishing to apply for asylum in Germany can now be rejected directly at the border.

At the same time, Dobrindt announced an increase of several thousand federal police officers at the border in order to effectively enforce the new rules. The move is in line with election promises made by the conservative CDU/CSU union under the new Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office on Tuesday and has long announced a tougher approach to illegal migration.

Dobrindt had already said in an interview with Bild before taking office that "illegal migration numbers must fall" and that "control, clarity and consistency are necessary for the success of humanity and order". At the same time, he stressed that there will not be a complete closure of the borders, but controls will be reinforced and the return of migrants to neighbouring countries will increase.

These measures are to be coordinated with neighbouring countries, including the Czech Republic, with whose representatives Merz had been in talks before he took office.

However, the German police union GdP warns that with the current number of police officers, it is not sustainable in the long term to deploy so many officers at the border. The head of the union Andreas Rosskopf stressed the need for legal certainty in the return of migrants to neighbouring countries, to avoid a situation where migrants are played "ping-pong".

There are currently around 11,000 police officers deployed at the German border, and Dobrindt plans to increase this number by another 5,000; the length of the German border is almost 4,000 kilometres.

Germany has already been checking its borders with Austria since 2015, and since October 2023 it has added checks at the borders with the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland, and last September it extended them to the borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

The new German government is responding to growing public and political pressure, where migration remains a pressing issue, especially after the tragic migrant-related attacks Merz used in his campaign. While some neighbours, such as Austria, support a tougher fight against illegal migration, they are reluctant to take in migrants rejected by Germany, which may complicate the situation at the European level.

gnews.cz - GH