Germany has launched a new initiative to tighten border controls and temper the flow of undocumented migrants into the country. Newly elected chancellor Friedrich Merz has issued orders to turn those without papers away from the country and has formally scrapped the open border policy pursued by former leader Angela Merkel.
Merz’s new interior minister Alexander Dobrindt withdrew Merkel’s 2015 doctrine which allowed over a million migrants to enter Germany, many of whom had been fleeing the Syrian civil war. Merkel’s policy allowed a surge in immigration, mainly made up of refugees and asylum-seekers, during the 2015 migration crisis in Europe. That year saw the most asylum-seekers on the continent since the Second World War, with around 1.3 million arriving mainly from Syria, joined by a significant number from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Since then, there has been a growth in anti-migrant sentiment in Germany, signalled by the growth in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
At last year’s federal elections, the AfD surged to second place in both votes and seats, while Merz became Chancellor as his CDU/CSU returned to government.
Under the new rules implemented by his administration, everyone without proper documentation will be turned away from Germany, apart from children and pregnant women.
Syrians will be deported back to their home countries and family reunions have been suspended under the policy.
There will also reportedly be a significant increase in border force operatives, with local media reporting a further 3,000 officials will be enlisted, boosting the total number of border guards to 14,000.
Migration was a key issue in the election, during which Merz promised to tighten border rules.
Dobrindt told a press conference: “This issue is about clarity, resoluteness and control. It’s clear that we want to take stronger steps against illegal immigration and the result must be that we deploy a bigger police presence at the borders for that. The numbers remain significantly too high.”
Merz echoed this on Wednesday, saying: “The European Union must send a signal to those who are setting off for Europe without valid entry permits.
“And above all, we need to send a signal to the smuggling organisations that these routes will become much more difficult in the future – and that at some point, they will be closed altogether. That is the right and strong common signal.”
Germany’s policy has come under fire from Switzerland, though, with its neighbour writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: “From Switzerland’s perspective, the systematic pushbacks at the border constitute a violation of current law. Switzerland regrets that Germany has taken these measures without consultation.”