Volkstedt gets a new deportation prison for 37.4 million euros!

Volkstedt gets a new deportation prison for 37.4 million euros!

A new deportation prison in Volkstedt is planned for the coming years in Saxony-Anhalt, with an estimated cost of 37.4 million euros. This project therefore costs significantly more than the original plans for a location in Dessau-Roßlau, where the construction costs were originally estimated at 4 million euros and later estimated at 12.6 million euros. Loud n-tv The rising construction prices since 2021 are responsible for the cost explosion, which made implementation at the original location impossible.

The new facility is scheduled to be operational in 2027 and is planned to have 30 places. A main argument for choosing Volkstedt as a location are the advantages that arise from the proximity to the existing correctional facility. This is intended to achieve synergy effects and protection against unwanted insights, which, according to the Ministry of Finance and Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU), can be expected to be highly accepted by the population. In the current situation, every second deportation fails because the people concerned often cannot be found Press portal.

Background and necessity of detention pending deportation

In Germany, detention pending deportation is ordered for people who are required to leave the country, for example due to a rejected asylum application or unauthorized entry. The number of deportations has increased sharply in recent years: in 2023, Germany recorded 16,430 deportations, which is almost a third more than in the previous year. In the same year there were over 3 million people seeking protection and 329,000 asylum applications Deutschlandfunk reported.

The need for effective detention pending deportation is made clear by the high number of people who cannot be found or can only be found with difficulty. This has resulted in many deportations failing, prompting the judiciary to take more rigorous measures. “The measures are intended to make it easier to track down those obliged to leave the country and enable faster returns,” emphasized Zieschang, underlining the urgency of the project.

Expectations and challenges

The expected operating costs for the new deportation prison are expected to be almost 11 million euros per year. However, this also raises questions about resources and human dignity, as there have been repeated reports of inappropriate treatment and inhumane conditions in such facilities in the past. The most blatant points of criticism are solitary confinement and the use of restraints, which are referred to as the last resort, but are often not sufficiently documented.

The discussion about the new regulations on detention pending deportation, which provide for an increase in the length of detention from 10 to 28 days, clearly shows the tensions in the political and judicial sectors. However, the creation of a new deportation prison in Volkstedt could defuse the current problem to some extent by increasing capacity and hopefully contributing to a solution more efficiently.