Germany to introduce holding centres to speed up deportation of rejected asylum seekers

Banjul: – The German government wants to introduce mass holding centres for migrants and asylum seekers across the country, the Guardian has reported.

The holding facilities, also called ‘anchor centers’ – an acronym for arrival, decision and return, are intended to fast-track deportations by containing large groups of asylum seekers, and the authorities who rule on their claims, in the same compound.

“We all know how difficult it is to deport people without protected status after they have been spread out across the country and put down roots in our cities and communities,” the interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said in parliament.

The new measure will replace Germany’s policy of embedding arrivals with local communities. Critics say the new policy will undermine the country’s reputation for being welcoming.

Angela Merkel’s government is rolling back its receptive policy of welcoming migrants against the backdrop of rising populist sentiments against the influx of migrants in the country.

However, the transit centre in Seehofer’s home state that is meant to work as a prototype for the centres has experienced high crime rates, mass protests and rising tensions between asylum seekers and security forces, the Guardian found during a visit.

Critics say the centres will hinder the integration of successful asylum seekers and residents of the existing transit centre liken it to a prison with restrictions on activities and movement.

According to a document drafted by the German Finance Ministry, Germany expects to spend 78 billion euros on migration related issues over the next four years, Reuters reported.

Under the new plan, the Federal government will use about 40 per cent of the money to address the root causes driving people to leave their homes and head to Europe.

Many of the migrants arriving in Germany, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa, are leaving due to poverty, unemployment and corruption and the hope of a better life in Europe.

Germany is working to integrate more than a million migrants it has allowed entry since 2015. Migration is a central issue in the country with the far-right, euro-skeptic opposition party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) leading the rising anti-migrant sentiment growing across Germany.

TMP – 25/05/2018