Deportations in NRW: Thousands of repatriations failed because the asylum seekers who were required to leave the country disappeared

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Deportations in NRW: Thousands of repatriations failed because the asylum seekers who were required to leave the country disappeared Detlef Schmalenberg • 2 hours • 5 minutes reading time After the fatal knife attack in Aschaffenburg, the Union wants the Bundestag to vote next week on proposals to tighten migration policy - and accept possible majorities with the AfD. Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) had promised significantly more deportations and a "de facto entry ban" at all borders if he was elected chancellor. And the discussion has long since reached NRW. Checks at the German borders and the rejection of all illegal entrants are also justifiable from the point of view of Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU). On the issue of deportations, politicians have "slept in recent years and not tackled important measures," said North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) recently. For example, there is a lack of sufficient agreements with other countries, and there is also "too sensitive handling of people who are required to leave the country". Most of the time, the discussion was about what is not possible. "But we have to talk about what is possible and how far we can go," said the Interior Minister. 51,972 asylum seekers are required to leave NRW The "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" has collected some facts and figures on the situation in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the Central Register of Foreigners, a total of 51,972 people in North Rhine-Westphalia were required to leave the country as of December 31, 2024. The vast majority (43,241 people), however, had a toleration permit. There are numerous different reasons why someone may not or cannot be deported. These include, for example, ongoing training or an "employment toleration permit" if the people are needed as workers in Germany. Health problems of those affected can also play a role. However, the necessary passports from the countries of origin are often simply missing, and they do not want to take their compatriots back. For this reason, the identity of around 3,000 people required to leave the country has not yet been clarified. 4,440 deportations from NRW last year The number of deportations has risen steadily since 2022. According to the Düsseldorf Ministry of Refugees, last year there were 4,440 returns and transfers to other EU countries that are actually responsible for asylum procedures, around 21 percent more than in 2023 (3,663). According to Federal Police statistics, the five most common destination countries were Albania (419), North Macedonia (408), Serbia (331), Georgia (261) and France (238). In 2022, 3,118 returns were registered. A good fifth of the nationwide departures and returns last year were from NRW. 1560 applicants who have committed multiple crimes have been deported since 2018 "In recent years, we have implemented a series of measures to consistently repatriate those who have no prospect of staying in the country," said NRW Refugee Minister Josefine Paul (Greens) explaining the development. This includes the continuous strengthening of the state's five central immigration authorities. An important goal of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government is "the consistent and priority implementation of measures to terminate the residence of criminal foreign nationals," added a spokeswoman for the ministry. For this reason, a so-called "NRW case management" was set up in 2018. The five "return coordination offices" created for this purpose have "targeted residence procedures and, if necessary, measures to terminate the residence of foreign persons with criminal records, but also of foreign persons with significantly negative social behavior." As of December 31, 2024, a total of 3,334 of these people had been accompanied "through case conferences," and 1,560 of them could be deported, according to the spokeswoman. 118 Islamist threats were returned from NRW to their countries of origin The "other deportations" by local immigration authorities in NRW were not recorded. But a number of "security-relevant persons" such as Islamist threats who were believed to be capable of serious acts of violence had also left the country. Since 2018, 118 of these people had been "repatriated," and five had "left the country voluntarily under supervision," the spokeswoman listed. Nevertheless, there were also numerous failed deportations, especially to Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Last year, this was the case for a total of 4,086 "repatriation flights" up to November 30, according to statistics from the Central Flight Registration Office.