Interior Minister rely on stricter border controls: Press the number of refugees!

Interior Minister rely on stricter border controls: Press the number of refugees!

Bremerhaven, Deutschland - In Bremerhaven, the interior ministers of the federal and state governments successfully ended their conference on migration and asylum policy yesterday. The central concern of these discussions: to reduce the number of refugees coming after Germany. In this context, Bremen's interior senator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD) pointed out that over 600,000 people have fled to Germany in the past two years. "It cannot go on like this," he made it clear what underlines the need for action.
In a planned press conference, the results and measures should now be specified. The focus will also be on the effectiveness of the border controls ordered under Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). This measure, which is particularly criticized, had the goal of preventing unauthorized entry and is examined in more detail in a conversation with representatives of the federal police.

How the zdfheute already show the border controls. The number of arrivals in the initial reception facility Eisenhüttenstadt, which is not far from the German-Polish border, has dropped by half compared to the previous year. The head of the facility, Olaf Jansen, attributes this to the effectively implemented border controls. These controls have been carried out at the borders to Denmark, Belgium and other countries since September 2023. 20 to 30 people arrive in Eisenhüttenstadt every day, but there is a positive development.

rejections and their controversy

At the Interior Ministers' Conference there was a heated debate about rejection of asylum seekers at the borders. Union Interior Minister is calling for a consistent implementation of these rejections to further limit illegal migration. Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann emphasized the need for this measure, while the SPD representative Andy Grote vehemently argued and pointed out the urgent implementation of new EU asylum rules. href = "https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/grenzkontrollen-asylpolitik-deutschland-friedrich-alexander-dobrindt-li.3249253" Target = "_ Blank"> Süddeutsche Zeitung that the rejections of migrants in asylum cases are now possible again. Dobrindt raised an earlier instruction from 2015, which had excluded this.

The statistics also show that the number of unauthorized entry from 130,000 in 2023 dropped to around 83,500 in 2024. Nevertheless, there are challenges such as security on the border with Poland, where more federal police officers continue to be stationed than before. In the period between September 2024 and April 2025, the federal police registered over 33,000 unauthorized entry and carried out 21,000 rejections. Another aspect of this discussion is the unity of the interior ministers, which has been discussed in recent months, beyond the continuation of border controls beyond March 2025.

The tricky situation around asylum and migration policy is also influenced by the different political opinions within the government. While the Union propagates a hard hand over asylum seekers, the SPD relies on a balanced approach that emphasizes the legal framework and the human treatment of those affected. In any case, it will be crucial to find a common consensus, especially when dealing with the AfD and its views on this sensitive topic.