Germany Set to Tackle Refugee Issues

‘Not Much to Be Gained’ from Tougher Deportation rules
Only one-fifth of the respondents said they would like to see more deportations. In view of “how prominent that topic is currently in federal and state politics, that isn’t much,” said Boris Kühn, a migration researcher at the University of Hildesheim.

At the moment, there are around 250,000 people in Germany who have had their asylum applications rejected. Some people simply cannot be tracked down by authorities. But 200,000 of them can’t be repatriated as there is either no country willing to take them in, or their country of origin is a war zone or they themselves have serious health issues that cannot be treated in their countries of origin.

In late October, the government drafted a bill to increase the number of deportations. However, the high number of refugees in most cities and municipalities currently consists of new arrivals.

“So there is actually not much to be gained in terms of numbers through tougher deportation rules,” said Kühn.

Social Benefits to Be Reconsidered?
Politicians are also discussing limiting social benefits for refugees, which are more generous in Germany than in many other EU countries. Conservative politicians have described this as a “pull factor” attracting refugees to Germany, and have suggested paying out less or no more cash to new arrivals.

Migration researchers, however, have criticized these demands.

“The principle of benefits in kind was already tried in the 1990s, and then again in 2015 and it turned out not to be practical,” said Niklas Hader from the German Center for Integration and Migration Research in Berlin.

It has long been legally possible to provide refugees primarily with benefits in kind, but the states and local authorities prefer not to because it requires more resources and turns out to be much more expensive than simply paying out cash.

Adults living in initial reception facilities receive food in their accommodation, and an additional maximum of €150 (about $160) per month in pocket money for personal needs such as phone cards, toiletries or travel tickets. This “pocket money” is enshrined in law and the constitutional court has ruled that it cannot be arbitrarily reduced.

“If we switch exclusively to benefits in kind, this does not mean that fewer people will set off for Germany,” said Marnich of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities. Instead, she suggested that benefits be leveled out across European countries.

Debit Card Instead of Cash
One change that is now being discussed is the switch to payment cards instead of cash payments.

Such debit cards are being used in other countries, such as France. Instead of being given cash, refugees would receive a card, to which social authorities would regularly transfer the allowances which can be used to pay in supermarkets. However, it’s not possible to withdraw cash from the card.

But Hader remains skeptical. “We all know that you can of course turn the money on a cash card into cash if you really want to,” he said.

Sabine Kinkartz is a DW reporter covering politics and economic affairs. This article is published courtesy of Deutsche Welle (DW).