Germany wants to start deporting migrants who have committed crimes on its soil to their home countries, including Afghanistan, following an alleged Islamist stabbing in late May.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the drastic measure on Thursday, June 6, as parties rushed to quell security fears ahead of EU elections.
A man with a knife injured six people at an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim last week, with one of the victims, a police officer, dying of his injuries on Sunday. Moreover, another stabbing took place yesterday in the same city.
Evidence suggests that the attacker arrested is a radical Islamist who travelled to Germany from Afghanistan in 2014. However, despite his asylum application being rejected, he was allowed to stay.
Faced with calls to change the government’s policy on deportations, Scholz promised to return criminals to their home countries, even if they came from high-risk areas.
Such criminals should be deported, even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan. The interior ministry is working on enabling deportations of criminals and dangerous persons to Afghanistan.
He also reported that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already begun a review. However, deportation from Germany to Afghanistan remains difficult in the face of Taliban persecution and widespread hunger.
Tougher immigration rhetoric
German politicians across the political spectrum have toughened their rhetoric on Islamism and migration in the wake of the stabbing. Ricarda Lang, co-leader of the pro-migration Greens, stated on June 2:
Islamism is the enemy of a free society. I believe that it will end up helping right-wing populists if we don’t have this debate in the democratic centre.
Despite losses in the polls after several scandals in recent weeks, the national-oriented Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could still come second in Sunday’s election.
However, Scholz also warned against xenophobia, calling for social unity after the attack.
It is absurd to place more than 20 million people under general suspicion. They too are often victims of hate speech and violence. They are also threatened and often intimidated by Islamists.
