The first to pluck up courage to raise this slippery topic was the SPD parliamentary group's interior policy spokesman Dieter Wiefelspütz. In his opinion, the very word 'illegal' still remains taboo for German political and public figures. German society is simply not yet ready to acknowledge the fact that several hundred thousand people without proper documents live in the country. Today the issue of illegal immigrants lies exclusively within the competence of the police. Politicians, for their part, have simply washed their hands of solving this problem, pretending it does not exist. Moreover, astonishingly, representatives of absolutely all parties hold the same position here. Even the Greens are no exception.
Public opinion is almost unanimous. Whoever is in Germany illegally or, in Wiefelspütz's words, without documents, is solely to blame for their current negative life situation. It is believed that the country is unlikely to help people who have broken the law by illegally entering the Federal Republic or working without the appropriate permission.
Moreover, old fears come to the fore: illegal immigrants take jobs away from German residents. In conditions of an almost five-million-strong army of unemployed, this point sometimes outweighs all arguments in favor of a legalization program. Even at the latest meeting of European justice and interior ministers, the German side expressed its concern about the Spanish program. In the opinion of federal politicians, there is a high probability that migrants legalized in Spain will move to Germany, where wages are higher than on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Social Democratic politician believes that simply ignoring the problem of illegal immigrants in Germany will lead to nothing good. At the same time, he fundamentally refuses to discuss the industrial and economic aspects of this issue. He is primarily interested in the social situation of 'people without documents.' The politician demands to 'alleviate the suffering' of illegal immigrants by at least granting them access to medical care. At the same time, Wiefelspütz considers it necessary to take care of illegal immigrants' children, who must be given the opportunity to receive an education. Politicians could have their 'weighty say' on these issues.
In the long term, a legalization program in Germany is inevitable, the Social Democrat is convinced. However, German society cannot sit idly by right now either. In the absence of an appropriate legislative framework, it is important today to resolve many humanitarian issues in the affairs of illegal immigrants, bringing them out of the 'social underground.'
Meanwhile, Gerhard Schröder's party reacted rather reservedly to Wiefelspütz's proposals, believing that the time for such a discussion has not yet come. However, the German judiciary has long been closely dealing with these issues. Moreover, even the highest instances. Thus, the country's Federal Court of Justice issued a fundamental ruling on the 'visa problem' at the end of April. The judges considered that entry into Germany 'with a visa obtained by improper means is not a criminal offense.' Simply put, false data entered into a visa application at the German embassy does not automatically lead to the conviction of a tourist who has come to the Federal Republic. It is another matter if it concerns extending such a visa already on German territory. This act already amounts to a criminal offense.
At the same time, the judges ruled on a stricter legislative approach to citizens of the so-called 'positive states' entering the territory of the Federal Republic. Residents of new EU countries may come to Germany without visas, but if they try to start working without the necessary permission, they automatically fall outside the legal framework of the German state.