BERLIN, 22 Feb. (DPA/EP) –
Germany’s economy minister, liberal Christian Lindner, urged the country to improve its control of irregular immigration and deport more people whose asylum claims have been denied.
The leader of the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) party – one of the three in the German government coalition – has argued that Germany must exercise greater control over irregular immigration, stating that it is not sufficiently prevented, according to the dpa agency.
“What we don’t need is irregular immigration that is illegal, but that allows you to obtain permanent residence and social benefits,” Lindner said, suggesting instead that it facilitate the recognition of titles for immigrants who want to work in Germany.
According to Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 217,774 people applied for asylum in the country last year, an increase of 47 percent compared to 2021. Most applicants came from Syria (70,976), followed by Afghanistan. (36,358) and Turkey (23,938).
In this sense, around a million war refugees from Ukraine were accepted into the country last year without having to request asylum, according to the aforementioned agency.
