Germany's migration crackdown in limbo as court backs asylum seekers

Yahoo

2 days ago

In a legal setback for the German government, a Berlin court ruled on Monday that rejecting asylum seekers at border checks within German territory - without first initiating proper asylum procedures - is unlawful.
The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration.
Shortly after taking office last month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered border checks to be stepped up and advised police to turn back irregular migrants, even if they applied for asylum.
In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9.
After the group applied for asylum, authorities returned them to Poland the same day.
According to the court, the Federal Police justified the swift return - referred to as refoulement - on the basis that the individuals had arrived from a "safe third country."
However, the Somali nationals challenged the decision and were successful in summary proceedings before an administrative court.
The ruling found that the immediate transfer back to Poland without an adequate examination of their asylum claims was unlawful.
Court rejects 'national emergency' argument
The ruling stated that the case should have been handled under the European Union's so-called Dublin procedure for asylum cases. Under the Dublin Regulation, police are not allowed to simply turn asylum seekers back at the border.
Instead, German authorities must initiate a complicated procedure to transfer them back to the country where they first entered the EU.
The court rejected the government's argument that the regulation could be suspended due to a "national emergency," suggesting there was not "sufficient evidence of a threat to public safety or order."
It said the Dublin Regulation must be carried out in every case, although it also specified that the decision does not grant migrants entry permits to Germany, as carrying out the procedure should be possible at the point of crossing.
Following the court decision, the interior minister maintained that the policy is consistent with efforts to reduce irregular migration and is legally justified, despite the court's findings.
"We continue to hold our legal position," Dobrindt said on Monday evening in Berlin.
According to Dobrindt, the three Somalis had previously attempted to enter Germany on May 2 and May 3 without applying for asylum. They only submitted an asylum application during their third attempt on May 9, he said.
According to the court, the decisions are final.
New migration crackdown policy
Dobrindt recently reported that, in the week following the policy change, 739 people were turned away at the border - an increase of 45% from the previous week, when 511 were rejected.
Among those stopped, 51 had expressed a wish to seek asylum; 32 were turned back. The remainder, including minors and pregnant women, were allowed entry on humanitarian grounds.
Critics of the new policy feel vindicated by the court's decision and have accused the government of undermining EU law.
Marcel Emmerich, domestic affairs spokesperson for the Green Party, said the decision exposed Dobrindt's policy as "a blatant breach of the law."