The High Incidence of Unsuccessful Deportation Attempts
The alleged perpetrator from Solingen should have been removed from Germany, but this didn't happen. It's one of numerous instances: thousands of removals fall through every year. Many removed individuals hide or cause disruptions.
The suspect behind the attack on Berlin's Breitscheidplatz in December 2016, Anis Amri, was also meant to be removed. Yet, the procedure wasn't initiated due to Amri's lack of identification documents.
These incidents aren't rare. Two-thirds of removals in Germany fail. While there were more removals during the first half of the year, only around 56% of the planned 24,000 returns occurred. In 2021, 31,330 removals failed.
Dublin Regulation Transfers Responsibility
In Solingen's case, a transfer date to Bulgaria was scheduled last year, but it never occurred. When the responsible immigration authority in Bielefeld visited his refugee accommodation in Paderborn to pick him up, he was missing. Issa H. had fled and was untraceable for half a year. Months later, he reappeared at the authorities and was eventually housed in a refugee center in Solingen.
The removal failed due to the Dublin Regulation. This rule states that the EU country responsible for the asylum application is the one the individual initially entered. In this scenario, it would have been Bulgaria. However, Issa H.'s disappearance past the six-month deadline made Bulgaria no longer responsible. "He had entered German responsibility as a Dublin refugee," explains Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann. "Therefore, we need to discuss how we can remove, especially in Dublin cases, faster and more effectively."
Removals are Announced
The primary issue with unsuccessful removals is that individuals are frequently not at their residence or accommodation when police arrive to pick them up. This is because removal dates are announced days in advance. The affected individuals are aware of the police's approach and have sufficient time to hide.
"Three-quarters of cases fail due to this exact reason, a very high number," says Bavarian Police Union chairman Florian Leitner on RTL. One could alter the method of delivery, "so that they are not delivered a few days in advance," but this would require legal changes, Leitner explains.
The affected individuals also warn each other. Activists also alert deportees through social media or messaging services that a charter flight for removals is being arranged. If there are no seats available on the planes, it's clear that it's a removal flight, says the Police Union spokesperson in Berlin, Benjamin Jendro, in the Berlin "Tagesspiegel". Then, the officers often find the first affected individual, but not the second one.
Insufficient Deportation Detention Places
Authorities can now enter other rooms in group accommodations, not just the room of the individual subject to removal, as determined by the Bundestag at the beginning of the year. However, a comprehensive search is not feasible, especially in large accommodations, according to Bavarian police union representative Leitner. This would cause unrest and a massive police deployment. If an individual is not found, the responsible immigration authority is informed instead. This authority then decides on the next step, such as applying for a deportation detention order.
However, there are too few deportation detention places, criticizes the Police Union chairman, Andreas Roßkopf, on ntv. Although the Bundestag has expanded the maximum duration for deportation detention from 10 to 28 days, this is of little use if all 800 deportation detention places are occupied, as was the case last year, according to Federal Police President Dieter Romann.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has so far adopted a relaxed stance towards this issue. She believes that the federal government has taken sufficient action and has "triggered a large repatriation package." However, she believes that providing deportation detention places is the responsibility of the federal states.
Many removals fail at the airport or on the plane. Airline companies or pilots refuse to transport deportees because they deliberately misbehave. "Air safety is in the hands of the respective pilot, and they decide," notes GdP representative Leitner. "If the person, whether male or female, refuses to board the plane, becomes aggressive, or creates a disturbance, the pilot says: No, I won't take you. Then the whole thing fails."
It's different with charter flights. "But chartering a whole plane is expensive. If I want to enforce this, I need to pay and provide the necessary personnel to deport more people," says Leitner.
If the individual in question refuses, sometimes violently, it is no longer the responsibility of the Federal Police, but rather the state police. And if there is no arrest warrant, the individual subject to removal must be released.
Removals can also fail due to reasons such as ill-health. Sometimes, the countries of origin refuse to take people back. In other cases, identification documents are missing. Authorities then have to verify the individual's nationality and obtain substitute travel documents. However, they rely on the cooperation of the countries of origin.
The scenario in Apolda, Thuringia's town, showcases this dilemma. The individual in question, an asylum seeker with rejected status, is under suspicion for committing multiple crimes in Germany. Yet, his departure seems challenging due to missing documents and the uncooperative Moroccan authorities. Outraged, Thuringia's Interior Minister, Georg Maier, expressed his frustration on ntv, stating, "He hails from Morocco, and now the focus is on securing a passport. The Moroccan authorities need to cooperate. Regrettably, this hasn't occurred as expected so far."
To rectify the high rate of unsuccessful deportations, law enforcement associations are advocating for enhanced collaboration between local police and intelligence services across the nation, advanced equipment, and expanded powers. "We must broaden the police's capabilities. We must be able to execute deportations more effectively and efficiently. Moreover, we must have the ability to negotiate agreements with origins and third nations to facilitate deportations," remarks GdP chief Roßkopf.
Denmark is often referred to as an optimal example. This Nordic country has been implementing a rigid asylum policy for quite some time. Fewer asylum applications are submitted there compared to Germany, while out-of-status asylum seekers continuously face deportation.
In Denmark, a strict asylum policy has led to fewer asylum applications and regular deportations of out-of-status asylum seekers, serving as an example for other countries. Despite this, the scenario in Apolda, Thuringia, remains challenging due to the uncooperative Moroccan authorities and missing identification documents, delaying the removal of an individual with rejected status and a history of committing crimes in Germany.
Two-thirds of removals in Germany fail, and many of these individuals hide or cause disruptions before their scheduled removal, making it difficult for authorities to execute the procedure. This is particularly true for the refugees, as the text mentions the case of Anis Amri, a suspect in the Berlin's Breitscheidplatz attack, who was also intended for removal but disappeared before the procedure began.
