Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced plans for increased efforts aimed at raising the number of deportations. Speaking to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group, the CSU politician stated, “My primary goal is to remove criminals from our country even faster”. He added that they would continue to arrange for the collection of criminals from prison upon the completion of their sentences, placing them in detention for deportation, and returning them-including to countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.
Dobrindt attributed the recent decrease in deportations in Germany partly to difficulties in returning individuals from certain Near Eastern countries.
Unlike Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), Dobrindt declined to quantify how many Syrian refugees should return home. Nevertheless, he is proposing new incentives for the voluntary return of individuals who have failed to integrate or who cannot secure a right to residency in Germany, with the objective of motivating more people to come back.
When pressed regarding reports that the Interior Ministry is reviewing a return bonus of 8,000 Euros, Dobrindt refused to confirm this. “There are no decisions to expand the existing return programmes” he said. However, he affirmed that Syrian refugees who have integrated into Germany and become part of the labor force do have a basis for remaining in the country.
Furthermore, Dobrindt strongly disagreed with the assessment of Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD), who suggested that there was no targeted immigration into the social security systems. “The reality within the social systems speaks a different language” he asserted, contending that the German welfare system remains attractive to many and offers “a high incentive to come to Germany”.
To mitigate what he terms “pull factors” Dobrindt is pushing for the creation of return centers in countries outside the European Union. Explaining the necessity, he noted, “In these Return Hubs, we can return people who originate from countries where we do not have repatriation possibilities”. He said this procedure is being prepared in coordination with partner nations like Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece, in conjunction with the European Commission.
The minister outlined a roadmap for these return centers: “We have now established the legal framework for this at the EU level. We are in talks with various countries and anticipate being able to reach agreements by the end of the year”. He cautioned, however, that the path toward opening a fully functional facility remains challenging.
