Germany to tighten border controls: Will not accept migrants

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

Following a series of attacks involving refugees in Germany over the summer, a decision has been made to increase border controls. Following the most recent attack in the town of Solingen, which caused the deaths of three German citizens, the government had promised to take tougher measures against the migration problem. The new controls, which will come into effect on September 16 and will initially last for six months, were announced just days after the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made major gains in local elections.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that the government is adopting a 'tough stance' against irregular migration, adding that the controls will reduce Islamist extremism and crimes 'coming from across the border.'

Faeser said, 'We are doing everything we can to protect the people of our country from these threats.'

Border controls are already in place on Germany's eastern and southern borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria; these controls are based on identity checks on roads and trains. With the latest decision, similar measures will now be applied at all border points.

During the 2015-2016 migration crisis, Germany accepted more than one million people, most of whom were fleeing war in countries like Syria, and 1.2 million Ukrainians have migrated to the country since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

MAINSTREAM POLITICAL PARTIES PROPOSED ANTI-ASYLUM SEEKER MEASURES

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), proposed turning back all asylum seekers at the border, including those eligible to apply for asylum, to also cover people migrating from other safe EU countries.

Following the stabbing incident in Solingen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government had announced a series of measures regarding migration.

These include expanding the rules that cause asylum seekers facing deportation to lose their right to asylum, and the resumption of deportations of convicted Afghan criminals to their home country for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

News Source: 12punto