Migration - Interrupted deportation of a man after heavy criticism
Sachsen's Interior Minister Armin Schuster has suspended the deportation of a man to Serbia following heavy criticism. "I have ordered a review of the case by the Landesdirektion", explained the CDU politician. According to the Saxon Refugee Council, the 31-year-old man was supposed to be deported there today, despite not being a Serbian citizen, having no knowledge of the country, and not speaking Serbian. Politicians from various parties have protested loudly. This is not the first time that the deportation practices of Saxon authorities have caused a stir.
According to the Refugee Council, the man's parents are from Serbia and fled there in 1993 before the Yugoslav War. He was born under another name in the Netherlands and came to Germany as an infant. He completed his education and training here, but always only held a tolerated status. "I cannot accept this practice. It is not fair. It is inhumane. It poisons our social coexistence. I encourage everyone to protest against it", said SPD Landtagsabgeordnete Frank Richter.
Richter demanded that the Härtefallkommission of the Free State of Saxony intervene on behalf of the affected person. "His deportation must be stopped!" The man has never been to Serbia and falls into a void: "In other words, the Saxon deportation practice pushes him into nothingness. As a Roma person, he would also face a lot of rejection and discrimination in Serbia, especially since he doesn't speak Serbian."
Richter visited the man in the detention center yesterday along with others. "Robert speaks fluent German. He has done everything imaginable - and even more than I could have thought of - to integrate into Germany." A false name entry by Dutch authorities has haunted him his entire life. He has tried everything to correct this error, including a DNA test. According to the Refugee Council, the authorities had always refused to issue him a work permit due to unclear citizenship status.
Petition against deportation running
The Saxon Refugee Council made the man's case public last Friday. Dave Schmidtke, spokesperson for the Refugee Council, started an online petition. It had already been signed by over 21,000 people by this morning. "His life story is a single torture, as he never had security over his stay. For decades, he had to pay for the errors of his parents and the responsible authorities showed no humanity in his case – no matter how much Robert tried to improve himself over the years", explained Schmidtke.
His supporters refer to the fact that the man is well integrated and an active member of the Greens in Chemnitz politically. Greens Landesvorsitzende Christin Furtenbacher called on Interior Minister Schuster in the "Leipziger Volkszeitung" to take action and stop the deportation. "Instead of finding a way to open the labor market for him, he is now to be deported to a country he does not know and in which he has never lived." Schuster stated that the matter would be reviewed in coordination with the Foreigners Authority of Chemnitz.
In the past, criticism of deportations has also been raised.
In recent years, there have been criticisms of the Saxon deportation practice. In 2023, a man from Pakistan was taken into custody by police during an appointment at the Health Office in Hoyerswerda. In 2021, a nine-member family from Georgia was affected. They had to be recalled to Saxony following a decision by the Higher Administrative Court. Last year, a Vietnamese man living in Chemnitz faced deportation. He had come to the GDR as a contract worker in 1987 and later obtained permanent residency. He lost it because he had stayed longer than permitted in his home country. Later, he moved to Berlin.
- Despite being born in the Netherlands and having lived in Germany since infancy, the man's deportation to Serbia, where his parents are from, was suspended by Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster.
- Frank Richter, an SPD Landtagsabgeordnete, strongly criticized the man's potential deportation, stating it was inhumane and harmful to social coexistence.
- According to Richter, the man's parents are Serbian citizens who fled the country during the Yugoslav War in 1993.
- Dave Schmidtke, a spokesperson for the Saxon Refugee Council, started an online petition to stop the man's deportation, which had already garnered over 21,000 signatures.
- The man is well integrated in Germany, speaking fluent German and being an active member of the Greens in Chemnitz politically.
- The issue of the man's potential deportation to a country he has never lived in and where he doesn't speak the language has sparked criticism, especially in light of his strong integration in Germany.
- Criticisms of the Saxon deportation practice are not new; previous cases involving individuals from Pakistan, Georgia, and Vietnam have also raised concerns in recent years.
