Constitutional experts are questioning the legality of calls from a leading politician for the deportation of individuals with dual nationality who have committed crimes. Nikolaus Kramer, parliamentary group leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, initially proposed the deportation of “criminal multi-nationals” a statement swiftly met with criticism from legal scholars.
Professor Markus Ogorek, Director of the Institute for Public Law and Administrative Science at the University of Cologne, stated that such a demand is incompatible with the principles of the German constitution (Grundgesetz). Professor Volker Boehme-Neßler of the University of Oldenburg echoed this assessment, affirming the proposal’s clear constitutional impropriety.
Kramer’s initial remarks followed a recent incident in Saarland involving a police officer killed by a German-Turkish dual national. He argued that individuals who attack security forces forfeit their right to remain in Germany and should be deported to their other country of citizenship.
Following media inquiries, Kramer clarified his position, stating that his proposal focused on expanding the grounds for revoking citizenship from dual nationals to include more severe crimes, specifically those involving attacks on law enforcement. He emphasized that individuals with dual citizenship who commit violent acts against police should face the revocation of their German citizenship and subsequent deportation.
However, constitutional expert Ogorek pointed out that Kramer’s broadened scope extends beyond serious felony offenses to include resistance to law enforcement officers during demonstrations or even simple physical assault. He argued that such broad criteria for citizenship revocation would be unconstitutional.
Boehme-Neßler further explained that allowing the revocation of citizenship based on criminal activity would create a “second-class citizenship” a concept not recognized under the German constitution.
Former Federal Constitutional Court Judge Peter Michael Huber, now at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, suggested that citizenship law could be amended to allow the loss of citizenship for dual nationals convicted of serious crimes. However, he clarified that an attack on law enforcement, in its general form, is too vague a criterion and could encompass trivial offenses.
