Germany is toughening its stance on migration. A growing number of its citizens now support the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers. Even among refugees, this idea garners some support, as DW finds in a small town east of Berlin.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The German government plans to step up deportations of rejected asylum seekers
00:05as part of a tougher migration policy.
00:08But migrants and refugees at this reception centre near the German-Polish border
00:13nonetheless remain hopeful they'll be able to stay.
00:19I came here because of war and I want to have a safe life here.
00:24I'm 100% confident that all the young people here in this centre
00:28are tired of the living conditions and the security situation back home.
00:32I'm from Syria and there I wouldn't be able to just stop and speak with you.
00:36It's forbidden.
00:38This processing centre is located in Eisenhüttenstadt,
00:41two hours east of Berlin in the former East Germany.
00:44The recent European elections saw the Right-Wing Populist Alternative for Germany, or AFD,
00:50strengthen its base in the Eastern German states after promises to curb irregular migration.
00:55Some of the people we spoke to here have lost trust in Chancellor Olaf Scholz
01:00and his Social Democratic Party
01:02and have little hope the government will address their concerns.
01:07It's all gone down the drain anyway.
01:09Why not just give them a chance and let the AFD have a go?
01:12We can't sink any lower, no matter which party.
01:16The SPD has had its turn, they've screwed up.
01:19Now it's the AFD's turn.
01:21Now the AFD can give it a shot.
01:23Germany has already been run into the ground.
01:27And if we didn't have any hope for the AFD, we would not have voted for them.
01:31The other parties have proven time and time again that they were just talking crap with all their promises.
01:38Others in Eisenhüttenstadt are more welcoming of migrants and refugees coming to Germany.
01:45Everyone has the right to live, no question.
01:48We want to help people, no question.
01:50People affected by war.
01:52But there must be limits.
01:55Even among refugees who have had their asylum applications approved,
01:59Berlin's tough migration stance has garnered some support.
02:04If there is war or any reasonable reason to stay here,
02:08you can stay here.
02:10But if anything else, they can deport them.
02:15Germany is governed by the rule of law.
02:18Those who abide by the law have nothing to fear and will not be deported.
02:21However, those who commit a crime or do drugs need to be deported back to their country.
02:26I support this law.
02:30Facing a record low approval rating, the German government is coming under increasing pressure to act.
02:36According to the head of the Immigration Authority in the state of Brandenburg,
02:40where the reception centre is located,
02:42raising the number of deportations will go some way to curb migration.
02:46But he says it will not be enough.
02:50For me, deportations are a mechanism aimed at restoring legal peace
02:55for criminals, serious offenders, people who show no willingness to integrate.
03:02They need to be deported,
03:04because our population cannot be persuaded to let them stay and collect welfare benefits.
03:13As the debate continues,
03:15these refugees and migrants await a decision by German lawmakers about what their future holds.