Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz promised drastic changes to the country’s migration policy once he took office, according to Politico.
On the first day of my tenure as chancellor, I will instruct the interior ministry to impose permanent border controls with all our neighbors and refuse all attempts at illegal entry.
Merz cited Wednesday’s fatal knife attack, allegedly carried out by a 28-year-old Afghan national in the southern town of Aschaffenburg, as evidence of what he called a “failed” immigration system. He also promised to introduce an “effective entry ban” for those without valid travel documents, including asylum seekers.
The limit has been reached. We face the debris of a misguided asylum and immigration policy over the last decade.
The potential German leader criticised the Dublin and Schengen agreements as “dysfunctional.” He also vowed that Germany would uphold the supremacy of national law over the EU’s framework in controlling migration.
Besides tightening border controls, Merz proposed giving federal police the power to issue arrest warrants and detain deportees until their deportation.
There will be fundamental changes to the laws governing entry, asylum, and residence in Germany.
