Opposition party members in Germany have voiced criticism of the Government and demanded tough measures in migration policy despite the steps taken after the knife attack in Solingen.
The European Union’s largest economy remains one of the biggest destinations for illegal migrants. At least 266,224 cases of illegal entry and residence registered by authorities last year alone. Scores of illegal immigrants were asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan.
Following the knife attack in Solingen during a street festival in which three people were stabbed to death and eight injured, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition came under increased pressure from opposition parties who accused the government of ignoring the problem for years and even facilitating illegal immigration with its policies.
On top of that, the suspect was identified as a 26-year-old Syrian with alleged links to ISIS, who was previously subject to deportation. As a result, the German government unveiled a new security package, leading authorities to begin deportations.
The attack sparked a new debate in Germany on migration, with the country’s ruling coalition led by Chancellor Scholz criticised for its handling of the issue. The new security measures, released by the government at the press conference on Thursday, seek to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, as well as tougher gun laws. It also provided an incentive for nationally-oriented parties in Germany ahead of key elections this weekend to once again raise the issue of failed migration policies.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), demanded significant action from the government to radically overhaul migration policy. He said that criminals seeking asylum should go to their home countries without delay and Germany should stop accepting any refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. He emphasised:
Ampel again fails to address the real issue: what is happening on our borders? We have to decide who is coming into the country and, above all, who is banned from entering. The limit for our society has been reached.
CSU leader Markus Söder said that the German government “should be able to prevent all those who clearly have no right of protection from entering the German borders. For instance, perhaps because they already come from a safe third country. Deportation practices must also change. Anyone who has no right of residence and refuses to leave the country on deportation or commits an offence should be detained on deportation. Also, we must minimise the benefits for rejected asylum seekers.”
Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is targeting victory in elections in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia scheduled for Sunday. AfD is currently leading in the polls in both states.
Martin Hess, a member of the party, criticised Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), saying she was “a complete political failure because since taking the oath of office she has constantly violated it. Islamism, in particular, has been able to spread further and further under Faeser because the SPD woman has continually prioritised the wrong things.”
Christian Werth, member of the AfD and deputy of the Bundestag, criticised against the European Union’s migration policy. He said: “EU legislation on asylum and immigration is based on Article 3(2) of the EU Treaty. In accordance with this, EU states open internal borders and in return the EU ensures effective external border security, an effective asylum system and the internal security of member states. The EU does not honour this. Since mass migration could not have been foreseen when the EU Treaty was ratified in 1993, this is a case where the basis for the transaction ceases to exist, which is regulated for international treaties in Article 62 WÜV. We can then at least suspend all EU legislation on asylum and immigration until the EU fulfils its obligations, namely securing the external borders and providing a functional asylum system. I proposed a law on this in the Bundestag, which was rejected by all parties, including the CDU/CSU.”
