Refugee policy: Faeser against further stationary border controls

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is currently rejecting stationary controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic to curb illegal migration. This emerges from a letter available to the dpa from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to the two CDU interior ministers of Brandenburg and Saxony. The Free State was willing to compromise, at least with regard to the Czech Republic.

Saxony’s Minister of the Interior, Armin Schuster, and his counterpart in Brandenburg, Michael Stübgen (CDU), had requested stationary controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic at the beginning of May. Last week’s letter, signed by Faeser, said a temporary reintroduction of internal border controls would require a serious threat to public order or internal security. Such a measure always has “ultima ratio character”.

Stübgen: No understanding for Faeser’s decision

Brandenburg Minister Stübgen showed “no understanding” for Faeser’s decision on the Polish border. Day after day, the federal police pick up dozens of people who have entered the country illegally. “Many of them are being deliberately smuggled by the Russian regime via the Belarus-Poland route in order to destabilize our country,” he said, according to a statement. “The last word has not yet been spoken on this matter.”

At the German-Polish border, the number of people who entered the country illegally has fluctuated, and since the end of February they have been higher than those at the border with Austria, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. At the German-Czech border, unauthorized entries have fallen sharply since a high in September 2022. A temporary reintroduction of internal border controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic is not currently being considered. Such a measure is one of the last resort options.

Call for controls at Poland’s border

Saxony’s Interior Minister Schuster said on Tuesday that he could go with Faeser with a view to the Czech Republic. Unauthorized entries at this border are currently not as high as from Poland and Austria. “The situation is completely different on the German-Polish border. Here, unlike the Federal Minister of the Interior, we see the migration focus that has persisted throughout Germany for months,” said Schuster. The access numbers would be significantly higher than at the borders with the Czech Republic, Austria or Switzerland.

In Brandenburg’s CDU, Faeser’s no causes violent resentment. CDU faction leader Jan Redmann said in Potsdam that the situation assessment made him clueless and angry. Faeser fails to recognize that migration at the border between Brandenburg and Poland has gained momentum.

Sharp contradiction from the Union

The deputy head of the German police union, Heiko Teggatz, also believes that internal border controls are urgently needed. He said on Tuesday with a view to the current possibilities of the federal police: “We are a better transport company, but not an actual border police.” The police accompany refugees to the initial reception facilities.

Faeser’s attitude also met with sharp opposition from the Union im Bund. Union parliamentary group leader Andrea Lindholz accused the traffic light coalition of continuing to let states and municipalities down even after the most recent summit on refugee policy. “In the ongoing migration crisis, accepting uncontrolled asylum immigration is no longer acceptable,” said the CSU politician.