logo
German lower house backs plan to halt refugee family reunification

German lower house backs plan to halt refugee family reunification

Straits Times27-06-2025
People attend a protest against a bill suspending family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status in front of the Reichstag building, in Berlin, Germany, June 26, 2025. Banner reads \"Family life for all! Family reunification now\". REUTERS/Riham Alkousaa
People attend a protest against a bill suspending family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status in front of the Reichstag building, in Berlin, Germany, June 26, 2025. Banner reads \"Families belong together\". REUTERS/Riham Alkousaa
Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is applauded after addresseing the parliament on the day Germany's lower house, the Bundestag, votes on a draft bill to suspend family reunification for two years for people granted subsidiary protection status to relieve pressure on Germany's reception and integration systems, in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks with Julia Klockner, President of the German Bundestag, before Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, votes on a draft bill to suspend family reunification for two years for people granted subsidiary protection status to relieve pressure on Germany's reception and integration systems, in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben
Members of the Bundestag vote during Germany's lower house session in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben
BERLIN - Germany's Bundestag lower house passed a bill on Friday to suspend family reunification for migrants who do not qualify for full refugee status, fulfilling a conservative election pledge to curb migration and ease pressure on integration systems.
Migration was a pivotal issue in February's federal election, where the far-right nativist Alternative for Germany secured a historic second place with its anti-migration platform.
Germany currently hosts about 388,000 refugees with "subsidiary protection status", a form of international protection granted to people who do not qualify as refugees but who still face a real risk of serious harm if returned to their home country.
The majority of those holding this status are Syrians.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the new bill was necessary because Germany's integration capacity, especially in education, childcare and housing, had reached its limit.
"Immigration must have limits, and we are reflecting that politically," he told the Bundestag during a heated debate ahead of Friday's vote.
Some 444 lawmakers supporting the bill, while 135 voted against it.
The upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, which represents Germany's federal states, is expected to approve the bill in July, paving the way for it to become law.
Dobrindt said suspending family reunification would help deter illegal migration by disrupting smuggling networks, which often rely on sending one family member ahead to later bring others.
Berlin initially suspended family reunification for this group in 2016, amid a surge of over 1 million arrivals when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the border for those fleeing war and prosecution in the Middle East and beyond.
It was partially reinstated in 2018, capped at 1,000 visas per month.
'I CAN'T SLEEP'
Tareq Alaows, refugee policy spokesperson for the pro-immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl, said the group was reviewing the bill's constitutionality and will support legal action for affected individuals if rights violations are found.
Ahmad Shikh Ali fled to Germany from Aleppo two-and-a-half years ago, and his family, still stuck in Turkey, had only two cases ahead of them in the reunification queue to be processed and granted a visa to Germany before this law was introduced.
"Since I learned of this decision, I can't sleep, I can't get on with my life," Shikh Ali said, breaking into tears in front of the German parliament on Thursday where he gathered with dozens of other refugees protesting the law.
"My son was crawling when I left him, he is walking now," he said, holding a blurry photo of his 3-year-old son.
He said returning to Syria - where an Islamist government has taken power following the fall of veteran leader Bashar al-Assad last December - was not an option as the security situation remained unstable.
At the migration office in the city of Hanover where Shikh Ali lives, he was told that changing his status after finding full-time employment was not possible.
"I can't go back to Syria, I can't go back to Turkey, I don't have any options, this is what suffocates me," he said. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brazil-US meeting canceled amid tariff dispute, says finance minister
Brazil-US meeting canceled amid tariff dispute, says finance minister

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Brazil-US meeting canceled amid tariff dispute, says finance minister

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad looks on during a meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo SAO PAULO - Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday that his virtual meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had been canceled after initially being scheduled for Wednesday. That was a setback for the Brazilian government, which had hoped to use the meeting to negotiate tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed 50% duties on several Brazilian goods. Speaking to GloboNews TV, Haddad said no new date had been set for the call, despite Brazil's request to reschedule it following the cancellation notice. The minister lamented that Brazil was not even able to sit at the table to negotiate tariffs with the United States and criticized what he called "pseudo-Brazilians" in Washington lobbying against their own country. The tariff hike was linked by the Trump administration to the trial of his right-wing ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing charges over an alleged coup attempt following his 2022 electoral defeat. Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro's son, has been in the U.S. since March, campaigning for sanctions against those responsible for the judicial proceedings. Haddad said Brazil will need to explore other markets more aggressively, highlighting Southeast Asia as a promising region and calling for urgent progress on a trade deal between South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump seizes control of Washington police, deploys National Guard Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore Telco price undercutting expected to subside after sale of M1 to Simba: Analysts Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore At least $2m lost in S'pore to govt official impersonation scams involving cryptocurrency in Q1 The minister also said the government will soon issue an executive order to address the impact of higher U.S. tariffs. The package will include structural reforms to Brazil's export guarantee mechanisms through the Export Guarantee Fund (FGE). According to Haddad, the order will also support certain government purchases and credit measures, forming a multi-pronged response as there is no single solution for the roughly 10,000 companies affected. REUTERS

Trump says Ukraine, Russia will have to swap some land for peace
Trump says Ukraine, Russia will have to swap some land for peace

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Trump says Ukraine, Russia will have to swap some land for peace

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press about deploying federal law enforcement agents in Washington to bolster the local police presence, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington D.C., U.S., August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that both Ukraine and Russia would have to cede land to each other to end the war and that his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be aimed at taking the temperature on a possible deal. Trump told a White House press conference that his talks on Friday with Putin in Alaska would be a "feel-out meeting" to determine whether Putin was willing to make a deal. He said he could know within two minutes whether progress was possible. "So I'm going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I'm going to be telling him, you've got to end this war. You've got to end it," Trump told reporters. Trump also said a future meeting could include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and could end up being a three-way session including himself and Putin. He said he would speak to European leaders soon after his talks with Putin and that his goal was a speedy ceasefire in the bloody conflict. Trump has in the past talked about land swaps but neither Russia nor Ukraine have been interested in ceding land to each other as part of a peace deal. Europeans worry that major concessions to Russia could create security problems for the West in the future. Ukraine has sought to push back Russian invaders ever since the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War Two began in February 2022. Russia justifies the war on the grounds of what it calls threats to its security from a Ukrainian pivot towards the West. Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine holds barely any Russian territory. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump seizes control of Washington police, deploys National Guard Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore Telco price undercutting expected to subside after sale of M1 to Simba: Analysts Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore At least $2m lost in S'pore to govt official impersonation scams involving cryptocurrency in Q1 Trump said: "There'll be some land swapping going on." "I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine," he said. He said Russia had occupied some "very prime territory" but that "we're going to try to get some of that territory back". REUTERS

Who is Lip-Bu Tan? Top Tech CEO Faces White House Showdown After Trump Calls for His Removal
Who is Lip-Bu Tan? Top Tech CEO Faces White House Showdown After Trump Calls for His Removal

International Business Times

time2 hours ago

  • International Business Times

Who is Lip-Bu Tan? Top Tech CEO Faces White House Showdown After Trump Calls for His Removal

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan plans to visit the White House on Monday, just days after President Donald Trump publicly asked him to resign. The meeting was earlier on Sunday, as reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal, based on what it said were accounts from people familiar with the matter. Reuters was unable to confirm the report, and both Intel itself and the White House declined to offer comment. X According to the WSJ, Tan will also likely detail his professional experience and outline ways Intel could work closely with the U.S. government. He is banking on proving his loyalty to the country as a whole and emphasizing that Intel's manufacturing strength is critical to national security. Trump's call for Tan to step down last week marked an unusual presidential intervention in corporate leadership. Tan was "profoundly conflicted" to the tune of hundreds of investments in Chinese manufacturing and chip companies, many with alleged ties to China's military. Reuters had earlier reported that Tan invested more than $200 million in such firms. Past Roles and Controversies Tan is a Malaysian-born Chinese American. He has served in the semiconductor industry for many years. Before becoming Intel's CEO six months ago, he led Cadence Design Systems from 2008 to 2021. During his tenure at Cadence, the company sold its products to a Chinese military university specializing in nuclear simulation and management. The company pleaded guilty to related U.S. charges in April and agreed to pay more than $140 million as part of a settlement announced last month. The interest from Trump comes at a time when Tan is grappling with the task of turning around Intel's struggling business. However, two investors and a former senior employee of the firm said the recent row could lead to him being distracted from planned cost cuts. Ryuta Makino from Gabelli Funds told the Journal that Trump may pressure Intel to increase its capital spending in line with Apple and Nvidia, even though the company lacks the resources to do so. Scaling Back Ambitions The 2022 CHIPS Act was a boon for Intel under then-CEO Pat Gelsinger, who sought large U.S. chip factory initiatives. But Tan walked back those plans, saying that new plants would only be built when there is demand for them. That decision to slow factory building in Ohio raised more suspicion with Trump, who is a strong backer of expanding domestic manufacturing. Intel followed up Trump's comments with a statement reiterating its investment focus is in line with the "America First" policy, but it did not address the requests for Tan to resign. David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, slammed the statement as "bland" and said a protracted period of uncertainty could be damaging for the company. Tan's Defense On Thursday, Tan reiterated his loyalty to the U.S., where he has resided for more than 40 years. This country is near and dear to me—I deeply respect the land of opportunity that welcomed my great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and siblings with open arms. The board is behind my leadership in the direction we're heading, and I love that company also," he said. Tan denied any impropriety, saying he had always acted within the law and the highest standards of ethics. Indeed, U.S. citizens are only prohibited from owning shares in Chinese firms on the Treasury's Military-Industrial Complex List, and there is no evidence that Tan held any such stakes. But Trump's comments have shed light on his record. "While the scrutiny of Corporate America is welcome, it's unfortunate that Intel is a target because it would appear to have slowed their focus on jettisoning unproductive parts and developing winning products," said Brent Wilson, a former Intel executive. The implications of Tan's possible departure are even grimmer, the source told us: "If Tan leaves, it will delay what Intel needs to do quickly."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store