Extremism - Decision: Easier deportation after glorification of terrorism
Foreign offices of the states should be able to expel people who endorse terrorist acts more easily in the future. The Federal Cabinet reportedly approved a corresponding draft from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
According to this, an expulsion - that is, the revocation of a residence permit - should be possible after approval of a single terrorist criminal act. The question of what constitutes the distribution of content is addressed in the draft's justification by referring to a judgment of the Meiningen Regional Court, which states that not only the creation of such content but also marking a post with "Liked" on social networks like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok is relevant.
Federal Interior Minister Faeser stated after the cabinet decision that "it's not about the small click and the quick like," but about "real glorification and posting of reprehensible, terrorist content." The judgment in the draft regarding the distribution of content was cited in a criminal trial, it was added from her ministry - "in this respect, it will come down to the jurisdiction of the administrative courts."
The German government is responding to hate postings on the net, for example, after the Islamic Hamas attack on Israel or the fatal knife attack during an Islam-critical event in Mannheim. In this case, an Afghan man killed a police officer at the end of May. The 25-year-old perpetrator had come to Germany as a child. He most recently had a residence permit because he has two children with a German citizen woman.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced the legislative amendment in response to the Mannheim attack in a government statement. Faeser said: "We are taking a hard line against Islamic and anti-Semitic hate crime on the net."
To make the proposal as quick as possible into the parliamentary procedure, it is planned to dock it as an amendment to a bill on strengthening early public participation in planning and approval procedures, which has no content connection. The spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry, Maximilian Kall, pointed out that appeals can be filed against expulsions before the administrative courts.
An expert in migration law finds the proposal questionable
The chairman of the Migration Law Working Group in the German Bar Association (DAV), Thomas Oberhauser, considers the now cabinet-approved draft ineffective. "One must develop a lot of legal imagination to define the setting of a 'Like' as distribution," said the lawyer. In addition, it is not always clear to laypeople whether it is a terrorist content in a particular case or not. This was, for example, shown in the case of President of the Technical University of Berlin, Geraldine Rauch.
Rauch is under criticism because she marked an antisemitic post on the platform X in the context of the Gaza War with a "Liked." It involved a post with photos of demonstrators holding up a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a swastika painted on it. Rauch apologized and explained that she had liked the post due to its text and had not looked at the picture below carefully enough.
A significant interest of the German state in expelling someone should be accepted in the future, according to Faeser's draft, if a person approves and rewards certain criminal acts in a way that could disturb public peace. In such a case, a criminal court verdict need not be waited for before an expulsion.
Link politician sees authoritarian tendencies
"That Interior Minister Faeser now apparently plans to expel people due to a social media post," is the preliminary peak of a worrying development, says the right-political spokesperson of the Left in the Bundestag, Clara Bünger. When it comes to authoritarian regimes like Turkey or Russia, German politicians rightly reacted with indignation when people there could be persecuted or even imprisoned because of a "Like" in social media - "however, the Federal Republic has been moving in this direction for a long time."
Habeck: Islam does not belong to Germany
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck positively assessed the plan. "It's a great achievement and strength of our country that persecuted people can find shelter in Germany." But whoever denies the liberal order by celebrating terrorism and cheering for murders has forfeited his right to stay. Therefore, the residency right is now being changed accordingly. "Islam belongs to Germany, Islamism does not," added Habeck.
The deputy chairman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), wished for a more far-reaching reform. She said: "Given mass antisemitism and Kalifat-demonstrations on German streets, every antisemitic and antidemocratic crime should lead to expulsion."
Lawyer Oberhauser said it was "completely insane" to believe that immigration authorities would scan social media posts on a large scale in the future for "Likes." It would be better if someone praised a terrorist act in the network, this would be an occasion for a conversation between a representative of the security authorities and the foreigner, "to determine if he is dangerous."
The chairman of the Federal Police Union, Jochen Kopelke, welcomed the cabinet decision, which he described as a clear signal to terror sympathizers. He said the police and all other authorities must also be equipped so that a noticeable pressure of persecution can be built up.
It should be checked on a case-by-case basis whether there is also a personal involvement, said Oberhauser, for example, if a Palestinian has lost anxiety about his children or relatives living in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli military operation. Even if an expulsion order is issued for reasons of danger prevention, it must be checked whether there are perhaps reasons for toleration.
- The draft, approved by the Federal Cabinet and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, allows for easier expulsion of individuals who endorse terrorist acts.
- The expulsion could occur following a single terrorist criminal act, as addressed in the draft's justification.
- The draft defines the distribution of content as not only creating it but also marking a post with "Liked" on social networks like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
- Faeser emphasized that the focus is on "real glorification and posting of reprehensible, terrorist content" rather than virtual gestures like a simple "like."
- The proposal is planned to be fast-tracked into parliamentary procedure, potentially as an amendment to a bill on strengthening early public participation in planning and approval procedures.
- Lawyer Thomas Oberhauser, chairman of the Migration Law Working Group in the German Bar Association, considers the draft ineffective due to the difficulty of defining a "Like" as distribution.
- Geraldine Rauch, president of the Technical University of Berlin, faced criticism after liking an antisemitic post during the Gaza War.
- Faeser's draft suggests that a significant interest of the German state in expelling someone should be accepted if they approve and reward certain criminal acts that could disturb public peace.
- Clara Bünger, spokesperson for the Left in the Bundestag, sees authoritarian tendencies in the draft, comparing it to persecution in authoritarian regimes like Turkey or Russia.
- Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck positively assessed the plan, stating that individuals who deny the liberal order by celebrating terrorism have forfeited their right to stay in Germany.
- Andrea Lindholz, deputy chairman of the Union faction, called for a more far-reaching reform, suggesting that every antisemitic and antidemocratic crime should lead to expulsion.
- Lawyer Oberhauser finds it implausible that immigration authorities will closely scan social media posts for "Likes" in the future, suggesting a discussion with a representative of the security authorities instead.
- Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the Federal Police Union, welcomed the decision, describing it as a clear signal to terror sympathizers and emphasizing the need for proper equipment of all authorities to build up pressure of persecution.
