Binz wants to update integration concept with municipalities
Integration Minister Katharina Binz wants to create more places for the initial reception of refugees and not distribute them to the municipalities too early. The state's integration concept from 2017 is to be updated at the beginning of 2024 - with the close involvement of the municipalities, as the Green politician said in an interview with the German Press Agency in Mainz. "It only makes sense if we end up with an integration concept from a single source." And: cooperation between the "extremely overburdened" local immigration authorities should speed up the voluntary departure and deportation of unrecognized asylum seekers.
"The municipal umbrella organizations are relieved that significantly more funds will be made available to finance refugee costs for 2024," said Andreas Göbel from the Landkreistag in an interview with the German Press Agency about the results of the Minister Presidents' Conference (MPK) with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in mid-November. The state will support the municipalities with an additional 267.2 million euros in the coming year.
"However, the financing of refugee costs for 2023 and 2025 is still open," warned the Chief Executive Director. The Landkreistag - which currently speaks for all three municipal umbrella organizations - would like to see "a clarification of the structural funding issues" as quickly as possible - regardless of the specific form. However, Göbel emphasized that the integration of refugees is a priority.
Less perfection in integration
In the planned update of the integration concept, best-practice examples must be used for orientation. Volunteering is also important here. "But volunteers also need support and guidance, otherwise they will be overwhelmed," emphasized Göbel. "And they are already overwhelmed almost everywhere."
When it comes to integration, much more emphasis needs to be placed on refugees who are willing to integrate. "They can put themselves in the shoes of the refugees and this can also alleviate the staff shortage somewhat," said Göbel. It is better for a refugee mother of three children to help out in a daycare center than to have no offer. "With our perfectionism, we are creating standards that cannot be met," warned Göbel. "We can also learn from the refugees: we only perfect and can no longer improvise."
"Integration is linked to other issues," emphasized Binz. "Refugees who find work are no longer in receipt of benefits. They also move into their own accommodation more quickly, which relieves the burden on local authorities, creates acceptance and is good for society, because we have a shortage of skilled workers and labor."
Göbel cited the placement of unaccompanied refugee minors in the Alzey-Worms district as a positive example: out of 214, the district has placed 180 in training and work. "A super rate. This shows what is possible if you look after people properly. But of course it is extremely labor-intensive."
He cited the negative example of distributing young men with an extremely high probability of staying in a village without any connections, where the last bus leaves at 6 pm. "We can't afford that and it has nothing to do with humanity," emphasized Göbel. "It leads to mistrust among the local population because there are no more points of contact. And the refugees are extremely insecure because they are given no perspective at all as to how they should settle in here."
Create more places in the reception facilities
"We need new long-term planning for the initial reception of refugees: How do we set up our locations and which ones can we add?" stated Binz. "The state is really trying to expand initial reception capacities," said Göbel. "But there is resistance on the ground." This is because it only makes sense to distribute refugees with prospects of remaining in the country to the municipalities.
In addition to the existing five reception facilities for asylum seekers (AfA) plus a branch office in Hunsrück, new locations are to be acquired. "So that in future we can continue to distribute only those who have already been admitted to the municipalities. That is very, very important to us," emphasized Binz. The state is supporting the locations financially: around 1.6 million euros in the current year and three million euros are planned for the coming year.
"Our AfA concept has been overrun by reality," Binz noted. Although the places in the AfA have been doubled from 3,300 to 6,600, almost 8,000 would have been needed. How many places there could be also depends on the expansion of capacity at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), emphasized Binz. "A target figure of perhaps 8,000 places is useless if the BAMF does not adjust its capacities accordingly. We need harmonization for this."
"All municipalities want to accommodate refugees decentrally," said Binz. "This has worked very well for a long time, but at some point it is also difficult for the districts to accommodate people decentrally," said the Minister. "There will also be containers for refugees next year."
Limiting immigration overall
"All the resolutions passed by the MPK will be a waste of time if we don't succeed in limiting immigration," emphasized Göbel. "Then we won't do justice to those who come here. Then I can't integrate them." It should not be the case that "parcel carriers are the pinnacle of what can be achieved", said Göbel. "You're also luring people into a certain trap. The disappointed expectations are pre-programmed, with all the negative social consequences."
Binz also emphasized that returns - voluntary departure and deportation - "are part of the business". In order to speed them up, some immigration authorities in the country should be "bundled" and take over the tasks for others. "That way, we can also bundle competencies. These are often difficult legal issues and you often also need knowledge of the countries of origin," said Binz. "We want the immigration authorities in the area to be relieved and then be able to focus more on how we can get people into work or how we can implement other integration issues."
The update of the integration concept by Minister Binz involves closer collaboration with municipalities, as they play a crucial role in integrating refugees. The additional funding for refugee costs in 2024 by the state is expected to ease the burden on overburdened local immigration authorities.
In light of the planned update, Andreas Göbel from the Landkreistag suggests using best-practice examples and emphasizes the importance of supporting and guiding volunteers to avoid overwhelming them during the integration process.
Source: www.dpa.com
