As Regional Elections Loom, Germany Pursues Deportation
Christian Montanez
Staff Writer
On August 23, a mass casualty stabbing rocked Solingen, Germany as its people were honoring the city’s 650th anniversary of the Festival der Vielfalt, or Festival of Diversity. The horrific attack carried out by an alleged member of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) left three people dead and eight wounded, reports BBC News. It has been revealed that the main suspect is a Syrian national who entered Germany in December 2022. According to BBC News, the suspect should have been deported to Bulgaria, but officials had failed to locate him.
Following the Solingen Festival stabbing, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Germany will resume deportation flights of convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to Afghanistan. According to CNN, Germany has not deported individuals to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control in August of 2021, due to human rights and safety concerns. However, there has been a clear shift in the government’s attitude towards deportation. Both Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser have expressed desires to expedite the repatriation process for convicted criminals and those not protected under Germany’s asylum policy, a far step from former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy. The first deportation flight departed on August 30 from Leipzig, carrying 28 Afghan nationals via Qatar Airlines, reports CNN. Qatar has been instrumental during the deportation process, due to its role as a mediator between Afghanistan and Germany’s negotiations over repatriation, says Reuters.
Outside of deportation, Germany’s coalition government has announced new changes to asylum policies. According to Politico, Germany plans to withhold benefits for asylum seekers who did not enter Europe through Germany as their first country, appealing to the Dublin Convention. Additionally, Germany wishes to remove the protected status of any refugee who returns to their home country without possessing a compelling reason to do so.
These overall policy revisions come at a pivotal time within German politics. Regional elections in Thuringia and Saxony are on the horizon and immigration is a hot seat issue. In the aftermath of the Solingen attack, Scholz’s coalition found itself under pressure from the German right-wing party, The Alternate for Germany (AfD). The AfD has a notably stricter stance on immigration and asylum. According to CNN, AfD cofounder called for “the immediate expulsion of all illegal immigrants from [Germany.] All criminals, all extremists must leave.”
Despite Germany leaning liberal for decades, the AfD is making significant strides towards contending with Scholz Social Democratic Party. This is bolstered by the immigration status of the suspect in the Solingen attack. As of September 4, CNN reports that the AfD has finished the Thuringian election in first place with 32.8 percent of the vote and second place in Saxony with 30.6 percent, while the SPD finished in fifth place. This political strife could provide an explanation to why Scholz’s center-left coalition has petitioned for stricter immigration legislation. According to CNN, this is the first time since 1945 that a far-right political party has won a state election in Germany. This trend is worrying for the SPD coalition with the federal election approaching in September 2025. If the AfD gains enough momentum, there could be a complete shift in German politics.
Image courtesy of Getty Images
