Andy Grote, the SPD state minister for the interior of Hamburg and the chairman of the Interior Ministers Conference, is advocating for lowering the hurdles for deporting dangerous refugees, emphasizing that this framework should apply equally to Ukrainian refugees and extremists.
Speaking ahead of the upcoming meeting involving the 17 ministers from the federal government and the states, Grote stated that “we must lower the high legal hurdles for returning criminals among those with protection status-regardless of their country of origin.” He noted that the rules should apply the same way in Syria as they do in Afghanistan, perhaps even more stringently in the latter case.
According to Grote, the public cannot accept that individuals who have committed severe crimes multiple times in Germany can remain in the country. He stressed the necessity of balancing the private commitment of the individual with the safety interests of the public, asserting that public safety should be prioritized.
Currently, the expulsion of individuals requires compelling grounds of national security, a threshold the SPD politician believes must be lowered. He argued that if people who are receiving protection in Germany do not lose their right to stay even after committing serious crimes resulting in prison sentences, public acceptance for refugee protection as a whole will suffer. This is particularly true when an officially recognized refugee commits the most heinous crimes, such as murder or a terrorist attack.
Grote also extended this logic to Ukrainian refugees. While he strongly supports the European extension of the protection status set to expire in the coming months, he questioned whether this should apply equally to criminals or, for instance, right-wing extremists. If discussions are being held regarding the protection status of combat-ready Ukrainian men, he contended that they should equally address the protection status of Ukrainian criminals or extremists.
