Germany must “finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay,” declared Chancellor Olaf Scholz following massive pro-Palestinian protests and incidents of anti-Semitism.Scholz outlined his intentions in an interview with Der Spiegel, after visiting family members of German citizens in Israel taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.Scholz condemned violent anti-Semitic protests in Berlin and said Germany stood by its Jewish citizens against those who “unashamedly celebrate the death of those killed in the Hamas terror attack”.The chancellor promised “we will now be differentiating even more precisely” who could migrate to Germany.“On the one hand, there is the immigration of workers that we need. And there are those who are seeking asylum because they are the targets of political oppression,” he said.“On the other hand, though, that means all those who don’t belong to one of those groups cannot stay. That is why we are limiting irregular migration to Germany. Too many people are coming.”Scholz pledged to work with the European Union to ensure migrants were “fairly distributed” but also promised tighter border controls and to wind back cash payments.“We must finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany,” Scholz said, referring to disingenuous asylum seekers.“Those who are not likely to be granted permission to stay in Germany because they cannot claim a need for protection must go back,” he said.“To make that possible, our public authorities must be reachable around the clock so that someone can actually be deported when the federal police take them into custody.”Scholz said immigration procedures “must be accelerated, with asylum applications and initial interviews taking place in the initial reception facility.”“Court proceedings must also speed up,” Scholz said. “In some states, initial rulings in deportation cases come after four months, while in others, it takes 39 months. That is unacceptable. We have to deport people more often and faster.”Germany took in more than 1.1 million migrants in the wake of the 2015 crisis in Syria. Crime and sexual assaults rose thereafter, most infamously in Cologne on December 31 2015 as more than 500 women were raped in planned sexual assaults.Recent polls found 44% of German voters said immigration policy was the country’s “biggest political problem”, leaving environmental and climate issues (18%) and the cost of living (13%) well behind.The hard-right AfD party recently made unprecedented election gains in the west German states of Hesse and Bavaria, putting pressure on the three-party governing coalition led by Scholz’s Social Democrats.However, Scholz denied to Der Spiegel that he was just playing politics.“Your impression is wrong,” he said. “I am opposed to tactical politics. It must always be about the matter at hand and about finding concrete solutions to specific problems.”The German government, Scholz said, would “stand together, closely together, on this issue. We all know what has to be done.”“And it is my job as chancellor to ensure there is no delay. The important thing is our policies are not driven by malice. We must be firm in cases where someone does not have a right to stay. But at the same time, we have to be open and modern, because we need workers from other countries.”Der Spiegel’s interviewer said those who want limits on immigration “are quickly accused by the left of being inhumane and racist” to which Scholz replied, “That does happen, but that’s not how most people see it.”“What matters now is keeping our society together. Those who want unlimited immigration must be honest enough to say that we would no longer be able to maintain our current social-welfare system. We would have to accept conditions with problematic parallel structures, such as those that exist in other countries. Nobody can seriously want such a thing.”
Germany must “finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay,” declared Chancellor Olaf Scholz following massive pro-Palestinian protests and incidents of anti-Semitism.Scholz outlined his intentions in an interview with Der Spiegel, after visiting family members of German citizens in Israel taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.Scholz condemned violent anti-Semitic protests in Berlin and said Germany stood by its Jewish citizens against those who “unashamedly celebrate the death of those killed in the Hamas terror attack”.The chancellor promised “we will now be differentiating even more precisely” who could migrate to Germany.“On the one hand, there is the immigration of workers that we need. And there are those who are seeking asylum because they are the targets of political oppression,” he said.“On the other hand, though, that means all those who don’t belong to one of those groups cannot stay. That is why we are limiting irregular migration to Germany. Too many people are coming.”Scholz pledged to work with the European Union to ensure migrants were “fairly distributed” but also promised tighter border controls and to wind back cash payments.“We must finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany,” Scholz said, referring to disingenuous asylum seekers.“Those who are not likely to be granted permission to stay in Germany because they cannot claim a need for protection must go back,” he said.“To make that possible, our public authorities must be reachable around the clock so that someone can actually be deported when the federal police take them into custody.”Scholz said immigration procedures “must be accelerated, with asylum applications and initial interviews taking place in the initial reception facility.”“Court proceedings must also speed up,” Scholz said. “In some states, initial rulings in deportation cases come after four months, while in others, it takes 39 months. That is unacceptable. We have to deport people more often and faster.”Germany took in more than 1.1 million migrants in the wake of the 2015 crisis in Syria. Crime and sexual assaults rose thereafter, most infamously in Cologne on December 31 2015 as more than 500 women were raped in planned sexual assaults.Recent polls found 44% of German voters said immigration policy was the country’s “biggest political problem”, leaving environmental and climate issues (18%) and the cost of living (13%) well behind.The hard-right AfD party recently made unprecedented election gains in the west German states of Hesse and Bavaria, putting pressure on the three-party governing coalition led by Scholz’s Social Democrats.However, Scholz denied to Der Spiegel that he was just playing politics.“Your impression is wrong,” he said. “I am opposed to tactical politics. It must always be about the matter at hand and about finding concrete solutions to specific problems.”The German government, Scholz said, would “stand together, closely together, on this issue. We all know what has to be done.”“And it is my job as chancellor to ensure there is no delay. The important thing is our policies are not driven by malice. We must be firm in cases where someone does not have a right to stay. But at the same time, we have to be open and modern, because we need workers from other countries.”Der Spiegel’s interviewer said those who want limits on immigration “are quickly accused by the left of being inhumane and racist” to which Scholz replied, “That does happen, but that’s not how most people see it.”“What matters now is keeping our society together. Those who want unlimited immigration must be honest enough to say that we would no longer be able to maintain our current social-welfare system. We would have to accept conditions with problematic parallel structures, such as those that exist in other countries. Nobody can seriously want such a thing.”
