Interior Minister Faeser is reaping the rewards from her own ranks because of border controls and deportations. For the opposition, however, migration control is not enough.
Berlin – Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is proud of her asylum policy. “During our border controls, we have arrested 708 smugglers and prevented 17,600 unauthorized entries since October,” she told the
Funke media group
on Saturday (April 14). In addition, the number of asylum applications is “currently a fifth lower than in the same period last year”.
Faeser, who spoke out against border controls just a year ago, is currently defending the border guard wherever she can. After the successful conclusion of the long-discussed EU asylum pact, which, among other things, is intended to massively strengthen the EU's external borders, Faeser had introduced controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since October, according to
dpa
. Controls have been carried out at the borders with Austria for years. Faeser also defends this course for the future. Illegal migration must be curbed and the brutal business of smugglers must be decisively opposed, she told
Spiegel
last week . It's about successfully thwarting the smugglers' routes and destroying "their brutal business."
Faeser records a fifth fewer asylum applications, but the opposition is still dissatisfied
Another border that Interior Minister Faeser is interested in is the EU external border between Bulgaria and Turkey. On Monday she wants to see the situation for herself during a visit to Bulgaria. The aim is to see “how the massively increased protection of the external borders and human rights-compliant asylum procedures can now be implemented as quickly as possible,” said the minister and praised the EU’s newly acquired ability to act.
The numbers initially prove Faeser right: in the last six months, the police arrested more than 700 smugglers, 17,600 unauthorized entries were prevented, and the number of asylum applications fell by a fifth compared to the previous year. The opposition continues to demand a change of course. “We are still a long way from easing the situation,” said Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU). The border controls were set up far too late, says Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU).
In 2023, more people sought protection in Germany than since 2016
Last year's asylum numbers are grist for the mill of anti-migration activists. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), more than 350,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2023 - more than since 2016. Although these figures do not represent illegal immigration, they nevertheless play into the hands of discourses against foreigners and the fear of excessive immigration.
On the other hand, Faeser's tough course is criticized as inhumane by left-of-center groups and human rights organizations. After 16 years of Union government, it is the traffic light coalition that will go down in history for its consistent migration policy. The party alliance had already agreed in the coalition agreement to introduce a new immigration law in order to attract as many skilled workers as possible to Germany.
Faster deportations and asylum procedures as well as the introduction of a payment card for refugees are part of this. It is also intended to prevent asylum seekers from using German state funds to pay smugglers who brought them to Germany or are supposed to bring relatives there.