The German-Polish boundary - Controversial visit: Olivo Gonzales heads to the island's departure center.
A little island called Oder, found near Küstrin-Kietz in eastern Brandenburg, isn't too far from the border separating it from Poland. Back in 1991, the Russians cleared this spot of old barracks, and it has since been transformed into a nature reserve. There's a proposal to turn it into an immigration center for those who can't get a residence permit and make sending them back faster. The State Refugee Council isn't thrilled with the idea, condemning it as an "unfriendly system of isolation."
This Friday, the newly appointed State Integration Commissioner, Diana Gonzalez Olivo, will be learning about this center's plans on the Oder Island. She's worked in this position since May. Other members of the State Integration Council, namely those residing within the Green-governed Social and Integration Ministry, will likely attend as well.
The district administrator of Märkisch-Oderland is in favor of the Oder Island project, but the locals aren't too keen on it. They're worried about security. The Greens voice their opposition as well, but for different reasons.
The Ministry of the Interior intends to place around 200 to 250 housing containers on the island for this center. They'll repurpose existing buildings for other uses, like dining and sports. The estimated cost of 10 million euros will come from the next budget.
The idea for the emigration center came about during an integration summit with Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) in November 2023. The state-led council suggested that people without prospects for remaining and integrating should be pushed toward emigration. An emigration center like the one in Schleswig-Holstein was deemed a useful tool for this purpose. The Märkisch-Oderland district then proposed the Oder Island project, the Interior Ministry mentioned.
Emigration centers, according to Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU), are less severe actions than deportation facilities and are preferred by the government. "Through careful care and support, we aim to encourage those targeted for deportation to leave voluntarily and to help them obtain travel documents," he stated. The authorities' and courts' ability to carry out deportations can also be improved with the center, the Minister added.
The Brandenburg Refugee Council recently expressed their objection to the project, stating it aligns with a growingly racist migrant policy. "In the future, people destined for deportation will be trapped in a hopeless situation on the Oder Island, and we reject this notion." They plan to use exclusion and isolation to drive people to emigrate.
Antje Toepfer, the top Green Party candidate for the upcoming state election, also spoke against the proposal to Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung. She argued that housing people in an abandoned artillery barracks on the currently contaminated Oder Island wasn't the right solution. Werner Finger, the non-partisan mayor of Küstriner Vorland, also echoed the community's fears over rising crime rates.
