Schönefeld's municipal council approves controversial exit center!

Schönefeld's municipal council approves controversial exit center!

On July 16, 2025, the Schönefeld municipal council approved the development plan for an entry and exit center at BER Airport with a vote of 17 yes votes, 7 no votes and 4 abstentions. From 2028, this center is intended to bundle tasks relating to the entry and exit of migrants and is part of a comprehensive construction project that is also intended to create over 200 new jobs. Mayor Christian Hentschel and the chairman of the municipal council, Olaf Damm, emphasized at the meeting that the upgrading of the municipality's property will make a positive contribution to the development of the area. The decision combined with the positive resolution represents a significant step in the realization of the project, which has now overcome a crucial hurdle [maz-online.de].

But not everything seems to be well. Before the meeting, numerous citizens protested from the “Prevent BER deportation center” initiative. Around 100 people laid flowers and set up black coffins to demonstrate against the plan. The critics warn against the implementation of asylum procedures and deportation detention at airports, which, in their opinion, could endanger human dignity. They criticize the European isolation policy and call on the local council to reject the planned development plan, while a vigil has been announced for next Wednesday. As rbb24.de reports, the initiative is determined to stop the construction project.

An outlook on the next steps

The project stipulates that the state of Brandenburg will rent the building, while the federal government would like to use the space. The plan is to push the completion of the center through a private investor who will build the center. However, this decision is causing further criticism as there is no public tender for the project. This could indicate that savings are being made at the wrong end, which could once again undermine trust in public institutions.

The concerns and fears about the planned entry and exit center are not unfounded. The number of deportations in Germany has risen steadily in recent years. In 2024, a total of 20,084 people were deported from Germany, an increase compared to previous years. Most deportations come from the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, with those affected often coming from countries such as Georgia, Turkey, Afghanistan and other crisis regions. Such numbers and processes leave no one cold and raise questions about the political handling of migrants, as bpb.de explains.

However, the situation in Schönefeld is complex. While the municipal council is focusing on the development and creation of new jobs, it remains to be seen how public and political opinion regarding the planned center will continue to be shaped and whether the protests against the initiative will bear fruit.