Saxony-Anhalt: Prime Minister calls for border controls and reforms!

Saxony-Anhalt: Prime Minister calls for border controls and reforms!

In the last few days, discussions about border controls in Germany have gained momentum. Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) has tirelessly emphasized the urgent need for border controls and the rejection of asylum seekers. He believes it is essential for a nation to ensure the integrity of its borders, and he calls for adjustments to existing law if courts come to review deportations. From his point of view, this measure, which is necessary, is in a larger political context, because there are currently no absolute majorities of the democratic center in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, which further complicates the situation, as fundscene.com reports.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Alexander Schweitzer (SPD), warns that border controls must not become a permanent situation. Federal Council President Anke Rehlinger (SPD) has also called for Germany to return to a Schengen area without border controls and criticized the need for border officials at non-existent barriers. These contradictions within the political landscape make it clear that the issue of immigration and asylum remains highly sensitive and controversial.

The Dublin System: Rules and Challenges

The Dublin system plays a central role in the context of asylum applications. The Dublin III Regulation regulates which EU member state is responsible for asylum applications. It applies to all member countries as well as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. The aim of the Dublin system is that applicants' personal backgrounds and escape histories are only identified and assessed once. The aim is to prevent secondary migration within Europe, in which refugees travel to another country in order to submit a new asylum application there. The BAMF checks whether another state is responsible for the asylum application, as WDR reports.

If it is determined that another country is responsible, a takeover requirement arises. If the other state agrees, the transfer takes place and is considered a deportation. However, these legal framework conditions are not always easy to enforce: in the first half of the year, around 40,000 requests for takeover were made to other member states, but only around 25,000 were accepted, and in fact there were only around 3,500 deportations.

Deadlines and procedures in the asylum process

The Dublin procedure is time-limited. The German authorities have six months to carry out the transfer, although in special cases this period can be extended to up to one and a half years. If this does not happen in time, Germany will be responsible for the asylum procedure. This represents an additional challenge because the legal basis and related deadlines are complex. Applicants can file a lawsuit against BAMF decisions, which can further delay the process. It is also important that the transfer does not take place to the applicant's home country, but to the other member state, as explained on [bamf.de](https://www.bamf.de/DE/Themen/AsylFluechtlingsschutz/AblaufAsylverfahrens/Dublin procedure/dublin procedure-node.html).

This confusing mix of political demands and legal challenges shows that the debate about asylum procedures and border controls in Germany is far from over. Particularly affected countries such as Saxony-Anhalt see their position in a new light and rely on clear scope for action in order to secure their own borders. In this mixed situation, it remains to be hoped that an objective discussion and viable solutions will be found that do justice to both humanitarian obligations and realpolitik.