Berlin pulls hard: significantly more deportions 2025!

Berlin pulls hard: significantly more deportions 2025!

Berlin, Deutschland - The black-red Senate in Berlin significantly increased the pace in the first half of 2025. According to Tagesschau , which corresponds to an increase of 56 % compared to the previous year. Most of these returns took place via charter flights, and people from Moldau (307), Georgia (154) and Serbia (47) were particularly represented. Deported from Turkey (39), Bosnia and Herzegovina (27) and Afghanistan (21) were also found in the statistics.

On the political stage, CDU parliamentary group leader Dirk Stettner was pleased with the numbers and announced that it would take further measures. "Over 1,600 returns" are forecast for the entire year 2025, which would be the highest number since 2017. The SPD, on the other hand, reacted rather reserved. Migration policy spokesman Hurricane Özdemir was not very gratifying that many people are deported. He also criticized advances of the CDU, which require a sentence for refugee activists who pass on information about upcoming deportations.

Current situation of return policy

The situation is influenced by the legal framework that clearly determines that return and deportation are politically prioritized. The bamf emphasizes that the return policy is also shaped by EU regulations that oblige the member states to move back. In Germany, the EU Return Directive 2011 was implemented, which defines the legal basis for the duty to return. The following applies: Voluntary return has priority over a compulsive deportation.

According to the interior administration, around 2,400 people currently live in Berlin who are immediately subject to departure. In total, more than 15,000 people have humanitarian toleration, which, however, do not grant a permanent residence status. In recent years, these laws have become increasingly the focus of political debates. The Basic Law protects the right to asylum, but escape reasons such as war or civil war are not always recognized as a sufficient reason to be able to stay in Germany.

historical review and controversy

A look into the past shows that Germany has a lot to work on in refugee policy. The discussion about protection status, especially for people from war -plagued countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, was and is often heated. Before 2013, there was no legal right to temporary protection for war refugees in Germany, which was criticized by many as a "protective gap". Even after the agreement of Dayton in 1995, as a great influx of those seeking protection from Bosnia-Herzegovina, many applications were rejected.

The return measures were often criticized as inadequate at the time because security concerns in home countries and lack of social bonds prevented implementation. Politicians are currently discussing the effectiveness of the return programs and the necessary reforms in migration policy.

The topic of return and deportation remains a hot iron that not only ensures conversation in Berlin, but also affects all of Germany. To what extent the political landscape is changing here remains to be seen - one thing is certain: there is still a lot to be done, in the debate about refugee rights and return policy.