Germany: Interior Minister Wants More Deportations, Especially of Criminals

Germany’s Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has reiterated plans to expedite the deportation of criminal foreigners from Germany, including to unstable countries like Syria and Afghanistan. He has also outlined a timeline for the establishment of EU return hubs, hoping to reach a legal framework to start building such facilities by the end of the year.

Foreign criminals should be deported from Germany more quickly, according to Germany’s Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt.

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With regard to Syrian nationals more broadly, Dobrindt said that the government wanted to encourage more Syrians to return to their homeland voluntarily, especially those “who cannot integrate and have no prospect of staying” in Germany.

However, the minister did not commit to naming a specific number of how many Syrians should return — and what the timeframe for these returns might look like.

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Currently, there are roughly one million Syrians in Germany, many of whom have long-term residency rights or have even been granted German citizenship.

Since the end of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024, such calls for return have been growing amid a stark increase in support of far-right parties.

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