Deportations from Germany have increased.

Deportations from Germany have increased

Information from the German Interior Ministry indicates that the deportation of individuals without German residency permits has significantly increased in the first three months of the current year. Hundreds of Afghans have also been deported from Germany to other countries.

The ‘Neue Osnabrück Zeitung’ reported on Thursday, citing a response from the federal government to a query by the Left Party’s parliamentary faction, that from the beginning of the year until the end of March, 4,791 individuals without residency rights in Germany were deported.

This statistic represents about a one-third increase compared to the same period last year when 3,566 individuals were deported from January to March 2023.

Klara Bonger, a politician from the Left Party who requested these statistics, criticized the increase in deportations despite the decrease in the number of foreigners obliged to leave Germany.

Ms. Bonger expressed concern that refugees are afraid they will be ‘returned against their will to countries where there are wars, arbitrary detentions, torture, severe poverty, or no prospects for the future.’

According to the report, the most deportations in these three months occurred to North Macedonia. In total, 483 individuals were deported to countries in the Balkan region. Additionally, 449 individuals were deported to Turkey, 415 to Georgia, and 312 to Serbia.

Data provided by the German Interior Ministry shows that in the first three months of this year, 345 Afghans were also deported from Germany; however, these individuals were not sent back to Afghanistan, as deportations to Afghanistan have been halted since mid-2021.

Among them, 319 Afghan asylum seekers were deported to other countries according to the Dublin Regulation.

However, many planned deportations do not occur. In the first three months of this year, 7,048 planned deportations were unsuccessful. The main reasons were that the individuals facing deportation were not accessible, or the flights were canceled.

As such, the law implemented at the end of February to improve the return of asylum seekers has not had a significant impact. This law includes several provisions to simplify the deportation process. For instance, the detention period for individuals to be deported has been extended from 10 days to 28 days.

Furthermore, police have been authorized to enter rooms other than the living quarters of individuals who reside in shared accommodations and are facing deportation.

According to the German Interior Ministry, there were a total of 16,430 deportations from Germany in 2023.