Half of rejected asylum seekers disappear in Germany

German police say only half of rejected asylum seekers have left the country. Police are offering centres for those forced to return. But the labour minister complains that young, skilled asylum seekers are being denied a chance.

Refugees whose asylum applications are rejected in Germany do not necessarily return to their country after receiving a deportation order, and a significant number of them never return to any official administrative or administrative center. The Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday, July 15, citing the German Federal Police, that about half of those who have to leave Germany disappear.

By the end of May 2018, the number of applicants who had received deportation orders was 23,900, but only 11,100 had left Germany. It is unclear where the remaining 12,600 people are.

"Welt am Sonntag" writes that around 1,300 people have also not been deported for various reasons. For example, in 150 cases, the pilot of the plane refused to take the deported asylum seeker to their destination. In more than 500 cases, the deportees themselves resisted and did not board the plane. This is a 200 percent increase compared to 2017.

The German Federal Police say that the most likely to resist repatriation are Nigerians and Guineans, followed by Somalis and Syrians, followed by refugees from Sierra Leone, Gambia, Morocco, Iraq and Eritrea.

The Welt am Sonntag writes that the number of successful deportations has decreased compared to 2017. This means that although the number of refugees deported increased by 17 percent in 2018, the number of people returned to their country of origin decreased by 4 percent.

The secretary of the German Federal Police Union, Ernst Walter, told the Welt am Sonntag that the disappearance of such a large number of deported asylum seekers places a heavy responsibility on the police: "Only by strengthening the centers for deportees can we prevent their disappearance."

Labor Minister's support for asylum seekers

Meanwhile, German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil criticized state authorities in an interview for constantly deporting more refugees than those who have been assimilated into society. "Sometimes I feel that people are being forced to leave Germany without their right," he told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

The Social Democratic Party politician has warned of the negative consequences of deporting educated refugees, saying it is detrimental to society and the companies that have invested in or employed these people.

Heil pointed to regulations that allow young asylum seekers to stay in Germany for two more years if they complete training courses. He said these regulations were not implemented uniformly across German states and were particularly poorly implemented in Bavaria, a state governed by the conservative Christian Social Party.