Germany “sends a signal to the world and Europe.” This is how it changes its migration policy

Just hours after taking office as Germany's interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt confirmed changes in his approach to illegal migrants. As he announced during his election campaign, he intends to limit the influx of foreigners into his country.

Germany. New Interior Minister Announces Changes

The politician has already held talks on the subject with the heads of the federal police, Dieter Romann, and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Hans-Eckhard Sommer. He announced that the order of the interior minister from September 2015, which did not allow asylum seekers to be returned at the border, would be revoked.

Minister Dobrindt explained that his decision was aimed at preventing the “system from becoming overloaded”. He stated that despite the trend slowing down, the number of migrants coming to Germany was still too high. Changing the approach and allowing officers to return people at the border is to be one of the elements of the new policy.

The new minister stressed that it was not about rejecting all asylum applications, but about reducing their number. He assured that children, pregnant women and other people from so-called sensitive groups would not be sent back. The action of his ministry is to be a "signal to the world and Europe that the policy in Germany has changed."

Germany wants to limit the influx of migrants. It will not close its borders

The politician also drew attention to the need to maintain cooperation with neighboring countries. "We will coordinate with our European neighbors the return of people on common borders, including those applying for asylum," he announced.

– We maintain close cooperation with our neighbors – he declared and promised that there would be no closing of crossings between countries. – We want Europe of open borders to become possible again – he said, announcing a reduction in border controls in the longer term.

The minister also confirmed reports from Der Spiegel journalists. He intends to redirect more federal officers to the borders. He is talking about a twofold increase, to 12 thousand. In response to unionists' requests, monitoring will also be introduced.

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