Latest news with #bordercontrols
Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Germany's border controls will fail within weeks, police warn
Germany will be forced to abandon its enhanced border controls within weeks as the officers guarding the 2,300-mile land frontier are being stretched to breaking point, the country's main police union has warned. Friedrich Merz, the conservative chancellor, took office this month with a promise to 'end illegal immigration' and use 'every measure available under the rule of law' to prevent irregular migrants from entering German territory. His interior minister Alexander Dobrindt promptly ordered border police to start turning back asylum seekers, with immediate results. Last week, 739 migrants were rejected at the border, a 45 per cent increase on the rate before the new regime was introduced. However, this week the German Police Union claimed that the system was already on its last legs.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Australia has ramped up its travel warnings for the USA three times since April
The Department of Foreign Affairs has toughened its travel advice for the USA three times in just over a month in response to the Trump administration's increasingly harsh border controls. While DFAT has not changed the USA's overall rating from green, which means "exercise normal safety precautions", it has beefed up warnings about being detained at the border and requirements to carry identification while travelling within the country. The series of changes in April and earlier this month came as Australian holiday travel to the US plunged after a crackdown in which border authorities detained and deported visitors and searched electronic devices. Fears have also been stoked by images of masked agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, seizing people in the street and hustling them away. In one high-profile case, the US sent El Salvadoran man Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a notorious prison in his native country and has so far refused to bring him back despite admitting he was deported by mistake. DFAT changed the language of the USA entry on the government's Smartraveller website on April 4 to increase the prominence of existing advice that entry requirements to the US are strict, that border authorities there "actively pursue, detain, or deport people who are in the country illegally" and that "officials may ask to inspect electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts" and if travellers refuse they may be denied entry. The advice was again updated on April 16 by adding a warning about a law forcing foreigners who are in the country for more than 30 days to register with authorities, together with instructions on how to check if they've been registered. While the law was on the books before Mr Trump came back into office, he issued an executive order on January 20, "Protecting the American People Against Invasion", that demanded authorities tighten compliance with it. DFAT's advice was again strengthened on May 6 to add a warning to would-be travellers of a new requirement that boarding domestic US flights now requires a passport or photo ID which meets US Department of Homeland Security requirements. Australian travellers began avoiding the US even before DFAT changed its advice, but the downturn deepened last month. Two weeks ago, Australia's biggest travel agency, Flight Centre, downgraded its profit forecast by up to $100 million, saying developments in the US "have exacerbated the volatile trading conditions experienced throughout the year". Its chief executive, Graham "Skroo" Turner, told the ABC leisure travel from Australia to the USA was down by a "reasonably significant" amount of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent in the first three months of the year. "But in April we saw a significant downturn in leisure travel of 16 per cent and business was down about 7 per cent, compared to the same time last year," he said. Mr Turner said he expected the trend to continue. "The other issue is that they're worried about some of those stories they've heard." He said border rules were "still very strict" but little had changed for Australians, who are generally eligible for a visa waiver. "People hear these sad stories of people being detained," Mr Turner said. "It's probably been happening normally but people hear more of it now. "The unsettled climate in business has affected us as well. "We're pretty sure it'll be a short-term phenomena, particularly if Trump does come to bargains with more and more countries." Equality Australia has warned LGBTQIA+ people to reconsider travel to the US, particularly if the gender in their passport does not match the one they were assigned at birth or they have a history of activism. Legal director Heather Corkhill said the organisation did "not expect the travel risks to diminish in the near future". "LGBTIQ+ people are now very conscious of the risks, and some are choosing not to travel to the US while others are taking steps to mitigate the danger — such as deleting content on their phones or memorising phone numbers of loved ones and lawyers," she said. "Even after arrival, travel within the US carries a growing level of risk with states across the country introducing hundreds of anti-LGBTIQ+ laws this year that restrict such things as bathroom access and correct gender markers."
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN refugee body warns Germany over stricter border controls
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, has expressed concern over Germany's decision to tighten border controls and reject asylum seekers at the country's borders. UNHCR's representative in Germany, Katharina Thote, told dpa that the agency was worried about the government's move to stop accepting asylum applications at the border. She noted that Germany has been a key partner for UNHCR for decades and remains an important country of asylum in Europe. Stricter border controls were introduced on the orders of newly appointed Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt last Wednesday, with exemptions applying to vulnerable groups, including heavily pregnant women, women with young children and seriously ill individuals. The measures after Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative-led government took office, pledging to maintain temporary border checks already in place and to turn back illegal migrants at the border, even if they apply for asylum. Thote said international law does not force refugees to apply for asylum in the first country they arrive in. In some cases, they can be sent to other safe countries — provided their rights are protected and it helps share responsibility fairly between nations, she added. However, closing the country's borders to all asylum seekers could undermine the principle of fair distribution, she warned and called on Germany to uphold existing EU agreements on managing asylum claims. Border rejections of people without valid visas are not new in Germany. However, until now, these measures mainly applied to people who did not apply for asylum or had been previously banned from entering the country, for example after deportation. A spokesman for Germany's Interior Ministry said it was too soon to assess the full impact of the policy. Since January, 45,681 people have applied for asylum in Germany for the first time — down from 84,984 in the same period last year, marking a 46% decrease.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Minister defends PM's ‘island of strangers' claim amid Labour backlash
A minister has defended Sir Keir Starmer's claim that Britain risks becoming an 'island of strangers' without toughened border controls amid a growing backlash among Labour backbenchers and charities. The Prime Minister used a Downing Street speech on Monday to lay out plans to 'significantly' reduce net migration as the ruling party seeks to head off the electoral threat from Reform UK. He suggested that without better integration, the country risks 'becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together'. Left-wing MPs including Labour's Nadia Whittome, along with migrant campaign groups, have condemned Sir Keir's rhetoric as 'dangerous' and divisive. Migration minister Seema Malhotra dismissed suggestions that Sir Keir's choice of language was anti-migrant when pressed on what the Prime Minister's underlying message had been during an interview later on Monday. 'What that really recognises is that without ways in which we've got common ties that bind us together, the way in which we can communicate well with each other, neighbours can talk to each other, people can play a part and play a role in their communities, that we risk being communities that live side by side, rather than work and walk together,' she told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. Asked whether the Prime Minister had been saying there were too many people moving to the UK and integration cannot happen fast enough, Ms Malhotra said: 'Well no, that's not what he was saying. 'I think what he recognised as well in the press statement this morning was how much migration has been and remains a vital part of our identity.' Ms Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, said: 'The step-up in anti-migrant rhetoric from the Government is shameful and dangerous. 'Migrants are our neighbours, friends and family. To suggest that Britain risks becoming 'an island of strangers' because of immigration mimics the scaremongering of the far-right.' Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill Bell Ribeiro-Addy appeared to endorse the message by reposting Ms Whittome's statement on social media site X. Labour MP for Luton North Sarah Owen warned that 'chasing the tail of the right risks taking our country down a very dark path'. She said: 'I am proud of what immigrants like my mum and those across Luton North have given to our country. 'The best way to avoid becoming an 'island of strangers' is investing in communities to thrive – not pitting people against each other. 'I've said it before and will say it again: chasing the tail of the right risks taking our country down a very dark path.' Zarah Sultana, the Coventry East MP who sits as an Independent following a rebel vote over the two-child benefit cap, accused Sir Keir of imitating Enoch Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood speech' in the 1960s. 'That speech fuelled decades of racism and division. Echoing it today is a disgrace,' she said. 'It adds to anti-migrant rhetoric that puts lives at risk. Shame on you, Keir Starmer.' Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected last year as an Independent, said: 'The problems in our society are not caused by migrants or refugees. 'They are caused by an economic system rigged in favour of corporations and billionaires. 'If the Government wanted to improve people's lives, it would tax the rich and build an economy that works for us all.' Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said the language was 'divisive' and 'lifted straight out of Reform's playbook'. Care4Calais, a refugee charity, said the Prime Minister's 'dangerous' rhetoric risked fanning the flames of the far-right, and called on him to apologise. 'This is dangerous language for any prime minister to use. Has Starmer forgotten last year's far-right riots?' Steve Smith, the charity's chief executive, said. 'Shameful language like this will only inflame the fire of the far-right and risks further race riots that endanger survivors of horrors such as war, torture and modern slavery. 'Starmer must apologise.' Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: 'It's right that ministers look to address concern over immigration, but the public wants principled competence rather than populist performance.' Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said: 'Successive governments have been hooked on the cheap political points they can score by punching down on migrants, and it appears that this Labour Government is no different. 'Instead of more appeasement to the right wing, this Government should focus on building an effective and humane immigration system, including a fair and effective asylum process that's capable of making the right decision quickly, so that survivors of torture can recover in safety and rebuild their lives in strong and united communities.'
Russia Today
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Germany cracks down on illegal immigration
Germany's new government has ordered tighter border controls, marking a sharp shift in immigration policy and fulfilling a key campaign promise of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Merz was elected chancellor on the second attempt on Tuesday after failing his first confirmation vote in parliament earlier in the day. He had pledged to turn back illegal migrants at the border on his first day in office. On Wednesday, newly appointed Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt signed an order banning asylum applications at all land borders. In a letter seen by Bild, he instructed the head of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann, to disregard a directive from 2015. 'I hereby withdraw the verbal instruction given… on 13 September 2015,' he wrote. The instruction came from then Chancellor Angela Merkel, who opened Germany's borders to more than a million migrants at the height of Europe's 2015–16 refugee crisis. Her open-door policy later drew fierce political backlash and was labeled 'disastrous' by critics. Dobrindt said Germany would not close its borders but would significantly tighten control. Police have been instructed to turn people away directly at the border, he told a press conference, noting exceptions for children, pregnant women, and other 'vulnerable' groups. The minister added that around 2,000 to 3,000 officers would be added to the current 11,000-strong federal police force stationed at the borders. He emphasized that the new approach should not 'place excessive demands' on neighboring states and confirmed consultations were already underway with those countries. Germany has a 3,700km-long land border with nine countries, including Poland, Austria, France, and the Netherlands. All are part of the EU's Schengen Zone, which allows passport-free travel for most EU citizens and many non-EU nationals. Migration remains one of Germany's most divisive political issues, with local authorities often warning that the number of asylum seekers is straining their budgets. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, known for its strong anti-immigration stance, was designated a 'confirmed extremist entity' last week by the domestic intelligence agency BfV, which said its activities could threaten Germany's democratic order. The party filed a legal challenge on Monday. As the EU's largest economy, Germany remains the top destination for asylum seekers. The country received a quarter (over 237,000) of all asylum applications across the bloc in 2024, though the number was significantly lower in annual terms.
