Germany’s plan to increase deportations

Visiting Syria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul, commented on the difficult living conditions faced by the population in the post-war context. The context of the comments seemed at odds with his party’s deportation plans.

The coalition government formed by the center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), in power since May 2025, intends to significantly increase the number of people who have received deportation orders, in a campaign they call “repatriation offensive“However, the political and media debate has focused on another word: deportations.

The dispute over deportations to Syria, a country devastated by a long civil war, demonstrates the complexity of this task and the divergence of opinions, even between the two conservative Christian parties in government. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) recently visited Syria and subsequently expressed caution: “It is only possible to a very limited extent at the moment”, was his assessment of the possibility of forced deportations. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Friedrich Merz, spoke out, contradicting his Minister for Foreign Affairs: “The civil war in Syria is over. There are no longer any reasons to seek asylum in Germany, which means we can also start repatriations,” Merz said at a press conference on Monday. He added: “Those who refuse to return to the country will, of course, be able to be deported no future“.

The Interior Minister is negotiating with the Syrian authorities

The Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), highlighted that he wants to move forward with the deportations on principle. Germany has not deported individuals to Syria for 12 years due to the country’s civil war.

In practice, deportation plans often encounter obstacles due to complexity of the legal framework. On Monday, the Berlin-based group Migration Media Service addressed this issue in its analysis.

The procedure “is governed by national residence and procedural legislation, national constitutional legislation, European directives and regulations and international law obligations”, states the report.

The report Legal scholar Hannah Franz from the University of Hamburg contributed to the report. His analysis focused on detention centers for deportees and the federal government’s plan to increase the number of vacancies in these locationswhich is part of the promised repatriation offensive.

Additional accommodation will be created in special detention centers or separate areas designated to house people awaiting deportation. At the moment, there are around 800 vacancies of this type throughout the country.

According to Franz, the number of detainees has been increasing for many years, reaching around 6000 in 2024. The vast majority of detainees, 90%, are men. “Very few detention facilities are prepared to accommodate women,” says Franz, drawing attention to a still unresolved problem in housing detainees awaiting deportation.

Are there insufficient spaces for detainees awaiting deportation?

Only 10 of the 16 federal states have their own facilities to accommodate people awaiting deportation. This means they need to be accommodated elsewhere. Engelhard Mazanke, director of the State Immigration Office in Berlin, is constantly trying to solve this problem.

Deportations are impossible as long as cases are contested in court. This generally involves situations where the individual’s nationality is unclear. If the person is unable or unwilling to present their passport, the situation becomes more complicated, says Mazanke, who has worked in the immigration field for over 30 years.

“There are many countries that are not ethnically homogeneous“, highlights Mazanke. As an example, he mentions the Kurds, who may originate from Turkey, but also from Iran or Syria. “This means that, sometimes, it is not at all clear which country the person comes from.” In these cases, it is useful to have other points of reference for the person’s identity: these could be documents such as a military ID card or driving license, but also witness statements given during proceedings before the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

“At the end of the day, however, it is always necessary to country that declares its availability to accept the person in question”, highlights Mazanke.

Deportations are only the last resort

From the point of view of the head of Berlin’s immigration authority, the decisive factor is to encourage people to leave voluntarily, rather than resorting to forced deportations. Mazanke recalls that, in 2019, the year before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, around 6,000 people had no chance of obtaining a residence permit voluntarily left the German capital. In the same period, however, only 1000 were deported.

In other words, the ratio between those who voluntarily left Berlin and those who were forced to return to their country of origin was six to one. Analyzing the numbers from this year to date, Mazanke predicts 15,000 voluntary returns and 1,700 deportations for 2025.

The federal government is also fully aware of what needs to be done so that more people no realistic prospects of staying in Germany leave voluntarily.

“We want to offer more support to those who choose to return voluntarily, strengthening incentives and offering advice”, states the government coalition agreement. The document continues: “If this does not occur voluntarily, the State should impose an exit obligation“By this, he refers to forced deportations.