German Chancellor rules out suspending asylum rights amid migration policy overhaul calls

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged new measures to prevent irregular migration but has ruled out suspending asylum rights, despite opposition parties' calls for a major overhaul of migration policy.

“The individual right to asylum will remain in place. This is in our constitution, and nobody can get my support to challenge this,” Scholz stated late Tuesday after the main opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) proposed a de facto freeze on accepting refugees.

Scholz announced that the police will increase controls at the country’s land borders and introduce stricter measures to deport violent offenders, but he rejected the opposition's proposal for a blanket rejection of all asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan.

“I would like to clearly state this: We will not violate the international treaties signed by Germany, we will abide by the law of the European Union, and of course, our own constitution,” the Social Democrat politician told public broadcaster ZDF. He added that measures against illegal migrants and violent offenders should not negatively impact refugees who genuinely need protection in Germany.

Scholz’s ruling coalition is facing pressure from opposition parties following last week’s stabbing attack in Solingen, where three people were killed and eight others injured by a rejected Syrian asylum seeker. The Daesh/ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Authorities have reported that the suspect arrived in Germany in 2022 but did not qualify for refugee status. He was slated for deportation to Bulgaria, the first EU country he entered.

This incident was the second deadly knife attack by a religious extremist in Germany within three months. In late May, a policeman was killed and five others injured in Mannheim by an Afghan refugee who arrived in Germany in 2014.

Scholz acknowledged the legal and practical challenges of deporting illegal migrants and violent offenders to their home countries. He said that authorities have been intensively working on this issue in recent months.

“We would like to ensure that there are possibilities for deportations to Afghanistan, and we would like to have this also for Syria. Serious offenders have forfeited their right to protection here in Germany and may have no claim to stay here,” he said.

Scholz did not disclose whether the government is in talks with the Taliban or the Syrian regime regarding deportations.

“I hope you will understand that we are not making public all the details of our very comprehensive work on this problem, because we want it to work. But I can assure you that we are working very hard,” he added.

Germany’s main opposition Christian Democrats are calling for “quick decisions” and a drastic overhaul of migration policy, including stricter deportation measures. CDU leader Friedrich Merz argued that Germany should stop accepting refugees from Syria and Afghanistan and ensure the swift deportation of criminal immigrants.

Alice Wedel, co-chairwoman of the far-right AfD party, advocated for a five-year moratorium on immigration and the deportation of all irregular migrants without legal residence permits. “The groups of people with the highest crime rates – primarily Afghans, Syrians, and Iraqis staying in Germany illegally – must be deported,” she said. — Agencies