ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior official from Germany’s far-right party said the country must deport Syrians, claiming that they are contributing to rising crime rates.
“We have to do it,” Alice Weidel, head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary group in the German parliament, the Bundestag, told Rudaw on Thursday. “We have to deport Syrians. We are forced to do it. Syrians are returning to their own country from everywhere except Germany. This is due to the extensive financial support they receive here.”
Germany has recently stepped up deportations, prompting criticism from opposition parties over potential human rights violations. Earlier this month, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Syrians could also face expulsion. "There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany, and therefore we can also begin with repatriations," he said.
The country remains a popular destination for tens of thousands of Syrians attempting to reach Europe each year, often via smuggling networks.
The AfD, a far-right party known for its opposition to migration and integration policies, openly advocates for mass deportations.
“Our laws state that when the grounds for refugee protection end, people must return to their homeland. They must go back to help rehabilitate their own country. There are no longer reasonable grounds for them to stay here,” Weidel said, noting that Germany has accepted more than one million Syrian refugees.
According to German government figures, an estimated 972,000 to 975,000 Syrians were living in Germany at the end of 2023. More than 4,400 have expressed willingness to return to home since the start of this year after the fall of the former regime, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees told Rudaw in September.
Weidel claimed that the large number of Syrians, as well as people from Iraq, Turkey, and Afghanistan, has contributed to rising crime rates.
“Nationals from these countries are disproportionately involved in major crimes such as murder and rape. Therefore, we will have to push back these criminals and deport them to their countries,” Weidel said.
“Germany has become an unsafe place,” she added.
In a study published in February, the German economic think-tank Ifo Institute concluded that immigration is not contributing to crime rates. “The assumption that foreigners or refugees have a higher tendency to commit crime than demographically comparable natives is not tenable, ”said Ifo researcher Joop Adema.
At least one million Syrians have returned home over the past year, according to figures from the United Nations, which notes that the returnees face enormous challenges of damaged homes, lack of basic services, unemployment, and volatile security.
Germany has a voluntary return program that provides financial and logistical support for people wishing to return home or relocate to a third country. Families can receive up to €4,000 if they agree to return.