Thuringian Prime Minister Mario Voigt, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has called for a “turn in migration policy.” He stated that individuals without a right to stay in the country should be required to leave Germany, in an interview with the Stern magazine.
For the state of Thuringia, Voigt announced the establishment of new deportation detention facilities and a separate deportation center. “We will set up a new central reception facility and a return center during this legislative period” he explained.
Voigt made his statements just before the recent violent incident in Aschaffenburg, where a two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man were killed in a stabbing attack in a park in the Franconian town. A 28-year-old Afghan man, who had previously resided in an asylum shelter, is currently being investigated as a suspect.
Voigt also defended the CDU’s proposal to revoke the dual citizenship of individuals who commit crimes, in the face of growing criticism. “We must show the red card to people who misuse their dual citizenship” he said in the Stern interview. According to Voigt, a dual citizenship is a “trust-based privilege that assumes integration.” “However, if someone does not integrate, misuses trust, commits serious crimes, and effectively disavows Germany, they should also be able to lose their dual citizenship.”
The Prime Minister characterized the proposed solution as “fair and legally sound.” He believes that any alternative would be “uncommunicable to the public.” By supporting this new direction, Voigt, as a member of the CDU’s executive board, is actively backing the new course set by the party’s leader, Friedrich Merz. “Merz’s proposal is in line with the constitution, and I do not share the concerns of the Federal Ministry of the Interior” he said.