Every second attempt to extradite an illegal immigrant from Germany ends without result
However, as "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, such a "coincidence in numbers" did not seem amusing to many German politicians. Moreover, when it turned out that one of the Afghans deported to his homeland committed suicide almost immediately, and another was deported illegally, criticism of the Interior Minister became even harsher.
At the same time, however, Horst Seehofer's opponents somehow preferred not to mention that the deported Afghan citizens had extensive criminal careers in Germany. And simple shoplifting is the least serious crime among them.
Meanwhile, the issue of the speedy deportation of rejected refugees from Germany has been actively discussed among leading German politicians since at least the end of last year. The then chairman of the Conference of State Interior Ministers and Interior Minister of Saxony, Markus Ulbig, proposed transferring the issue of extradition of illegal immigrants to the federal level. For him, as for many other regional politicians, it was obvious that the current situation, which gives the states exclusive competence in this matter, is largely unsatisfactory.
However, nothing has changed so far. Deportation of illegal immigrants remains the prerogative of state authorities. And they often fail to cope with the sharply increased tasks and demands now placed on the process of extraditing illegal immigrants.
Thus, as of the end of May, German law enforcement agencies were supposed to deport 23,900 people from the territory of the Federal Republic. These are citizens of third countries who, having reached Germany by various routes, were ultimately denied permanent residence in the country. However, in the end, only 11,100 of these immigrants were actually forcibly deported to their homeland or other countries. All other planned deportations did not take place.
These figures are given in the latest official report of the Federal Police, excerpts of which have reached the press. The main reason for this situation is quite banal: illegal immigrants, who know perfectly well that they face imminent extradition, simply leave the place where they were registered. People subject to deportation "were not found at the designated location" or "have been hiding for a long time" – this is how the situation is laconically formulated in the police report.
Another 1,300 deportations were interrupted at the very last moment. In about five hundred cases, extradition was canceled due to active or passive resistance from those being deported. This figure is immediately 200 percent higher than last year's figures. In 150 cases, pilots of the planes that were to transport illegal immigrants to their homeland refused to take such "passengers" on board. The largest share of interrupted deportations involved illegal immigrants from Nigeria and Guinea (60 each), Somalia (over 50), Syria (over 40), Sierra Leone, Gambia, Morocco, Iraq, and Eritrea (30 each).
Compared to 2017, the total number of immigrants subject to deportation from Germany increased by 17 percent. However, the number of those who actually left the Federal Republic decreased by four percent. The most rejected refugees were deported to countries recognized as "safe" in Germany: Albania (over 1,000), Serbia (over 700), Kosovo (over 600), Macedonia, as well as Iraq and the Russian Federation (500 each), Georgia and Afghanistan (400 each).
According to the chairman of the Federal Police trade union, Ernst Walter, more successful deportation of illegal immigrants could be possible through a preventive measure such as placing refugees in a deportation detention center. "Otherwise, the Federal Police will continue to face enormous difficulties, because currently every second immigrant subject to deportation cannot be handed over to law enforcement officers by representatives of state and municipal authorities," notes Mr. Walter.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister of Labor, SPD representative Hubertus Heil, regretfully notes that state authorities often order even those refugees who have already integrated well into German society to leave the country. "Sometimes I get the feeling that the wrong people are being deported from Germany," the minister said recently.
In his opinion, the legislative rule approved by parliamentarians of the previous legislative period is practically not enforced in the country. This innovation provides, in particular, for unrecognized refugees the opportunity to complete a three-year vocational training program in Germany and then obtain a residence permit for another two years. Only after this period should the authorities reconsider the possibility of the foreigner's stay in Germany.
In practice, however, this legislative provision is applied very unevenly, notes the Minister of Labor. In his opinion, this rule works worst in the state of Bavaria.