Bill is perfect: German Federal interior minister, Seehofer wants to deport more rejected asylum seekers

Seehofer wants to increase the number of deportations since taking office. Now he has submitted a bill but from the perspective of Pro Asyl, it is a compendium of horror.

Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants to make life difficult for aliens who are forced to leave the country and who are depriving them of their deportation. A draft law for improved enforcement of the obligation to leave the country has now been sent to the other ministries. Similar to the recently passed Good-Kita-law, a positive-sounding name should help to convince citizens and coalition partners: Seehofer's reform is called the "orderly-return-law".

Domestic Affairs spokesman Mathias Middelberg (CDU-Party) said: "It could also be called the 'faster exit law'." In essence, it is about "sharpening the legal framework so that repatriation actually takes place".

Those who warn people leaving the country should be punished

Last year, 26,114 successful repatriations were offset by around 31,000 failed deportations. 8,000 of the deportations failed on the day of the planned departure, because the foreigner was not found in his normal whereabouts or because he resisted.

The draft stipulates that in future it will be possible to punish those who warn those affected of imminent deportation. As a result, non-governmental organizations like Pro Asyl feel threatened. "Refugee helpers should be criminalize by this law," said Pro-Asyl-CEO Günter Burkhardt. The Greens called on the co-governing SPD-Party to take care "that this attack on individual fundamental rights and the rule of law is never poured into law," said her refugee expert Luise Amtsberg the "Stuttgarter Zeitung-" Newspaper.

An increase in the number of repatriations, as Seehofer had announced at the beginning of his term, has so far failed to materialize. However, many rejected asylum seekers from the Balkan countries returned to their homeland in 2016 and 2017. And that is usually easier to organize than a deportation to Ghana or Algeria.

Travelers obliged to leave and those who are tolerated

According to information from the Federal Ministry of the Interior lived in Germany at the end of 2018 about 236,000 people leaving the country. Most of them are rejected asylum seekers, but also some foreigners who simply stayed after their visa expired. Of the aliens who had to leave the country, about 180,000 had a tolerance. Often there are humanitarian reasons such as illness or the desire for a child to finish his education. In many cases, however, the identity is unknown or papers are missing.

Refugee helpers see Seehofer's proposal that refused asylum seekers, who do not participate in the disclosure of their identity and the procurement of replacement papers, only be granted a kind of "tolerating light". They are thereby excluded from integration offers and are not given access to the labor market. For some excitement, Seehofer's idea had previously ensured that people leaving the country would be accommodated in prisons. His ministry officials, however, emphasize that prisoners and those leaving the country should be separated so that they never meet. Nationwide, there are currently 479 places, which were created especially for the accommodation of deported foreigners. Several countries want to create more capacity.

Easier expulsions for crimes
Seehofer wants to revise the Ausweisungsrecht so that foreigners, who were convicted because of social service fraud or drug offenses, can be expelled more easily. The draft bill states: "Only if it is ensured that executives who are actually able to leave the country actually leave Germany will have the resources to support those who need protection, especially in terms of integration."

In addition, the Federal Ministry of the Interior intends to set the conditions for exit custody in such a way that this measure can be arranged more easily in the future. For offenders who can not be deported, Seehofer envisions a residence permit, reporting obligations and electronic shackles - similar to what has already been done with terrorist perpetrators. This would affect, among other nationals like people who come from Syria or other conflict regions that are currently not deported.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg - Germany)