TV column “Maybrit Illner” - Journalist addresses the Greens in Asylum Talk, her boss complains: “I’m irritated”

FOCUS online TV column “Maybrit Illner” - Journalist addresses the Greens in Asylum Talk, her boss complains: “I’m irritated” Article by Von Focus magazine editor Axel Wolfsgruber • 2 hours. Maybrit Illner discusses refugee pressure in Germany in her talk. It's about dentures for asylum seekers, family reunification and chip cards for basic supplies. “Is it beneficial to the discussion about asylum policy if we talk about social tourism, little pashas and dentures for asylum seekers,” Maybrit Illner wants to know from Thorsten Frei. Frei is the parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and Illner's allusion is of course aimed at the repeatedly provocative statements of the CDU party leader Friedrich Merz. “Above all, you shouldn’t confuse everything,” counters Frei. “He also apologized for social tourism and made the right arguments about dentures.” Germany is the only country in which a rejected asylum seeker receives higher benefits than, for example, a statutory health insurance patient, says Frei. “It's about more than basic care.” But he doesn't blame people. “This is an accusation against us that we are still creating incentives with our laws.” SPD Mayor Kampf: “Kiel is actually full” “Friedrich Merz doesn’t want to make a constructive contribution, he just wants to create a mood,” explains Ulf Kampf. The SPD politician is the mayor of Kiel. “We have to talk about real problems and find solutions for them.” In the past two years, the city of 250,000 has taken in 5,000 refugees. A lot of what went wrong was “absorbed,” he explains. “But now we’re actually full. We're starting to condense. We can manage a little more, but then it stops.” Starting next week, Kiel will have to accept 50 more refugees per week. “The air is becoming very, very thin now. We need a break to breathe.” The situation is particularly dramatic due to the war in Ukraine. There are also too many push factors. High standard of living, no persecution by governments like in the country of origin, good medical care. Kampfer makes it clear: “We have a legal subsistence minimum. We will never fall below the Albanian level.” Omid Nouripour complains in Asyl-Talk: “I’m a bit irritated” “We need humanity and order. What is happening right now is neither humanity nor order,” says Green Party leader Omid Nouripour. “They live in the dump for two years and their applications aren’t even processed.” When “FOCUS” chief reporter Anja Maier argues that the question of asylum policy is one of the Greens’ biggest tests (“The Greens are under high tension”), Nouripour complains: “I’m a little irritated. We're talking about an incredibly big question for everyone. We're talking about how people don't die in the Mediterranean. I don't know why people say the Greens are having a hard time. I don't know who doesn't have a hard time." He would generally recommend reducing the sound. Politicians should also not throw around words in times of uncertainty. “Let’s drive solutions and not always bang on and say who’s to blame.” “FOCUS” editor Maier: “We can be proud” From the perspective of migration researcher Ruud Koopmans, there is a simple reason why many asylum seekers come to Germany. “Germany has the most attractive offer. People also vote with their feet.” Even rejected asylum seekers are still doing very well in this country. Green Party leader Omid Nouripour wants asylum seekers to be allowed to work as quickly as possible. “We need workers.” Union politician Thorsten Frei, on the other hand, wants to extend the status of asylum seekers from 18 to 36 months in order to keep applicants away from social benefits for longer. Family reunification would also be made too easy for refugees. “We are sending the signal that if you don’t commit a crime in Germany, then you can stay here.” “FOCUS” editor Maier thinks that Germany can be proud that it is not an inhumane country. But of course immigration must be limited. According to migration researcher Koopmans, a chip card will help make Germany less attractive. Asylum seekers send a lot of money home that was actually intended for basic local supplies. Then Union politician Frei interjects: “Where is the Chancellor?” In the middle of the week, the EU states agreed to take a tougher approach with people who come from countries that are relatively safe. After crossing the border, they are to be accommodated in strictly controlled reception facilities under prison-like conditions. But that alone is not enough to stop the flow of refugees, say the discussants.