A significant amount of discontent exists within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag regarding comments made by Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD). Bas suggested that the German social safety net provides a genuine incentive for irregular immigration.
In response, Günter Krings, the deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, stated in the “Bild” (Thursday edition) that the system’s attractive nature must be countered. He called for measures to reduce these perceived incentives and insisted on the consistent enforcement of asylum responsibilities across Europe through deportations. Krings also highlighted a separate issue concerning other EU citizens who move to Germany, often working only a few hours a week and depending on welfare benefits-a problem he insists must be urgently addressed.
The assertion of Minister Bas was countered by Bundestag member and domestic policy expert Caroline Bosbach (CDU). Speaking to the newspaper, Bosbach strongly disputed the idea that the social system’s attractiveness was the sole issue, stating that immigration into the system is certainly occurring, and that statistics clearly reflect this reality. She reiterated that if proponents of the theory continue to deny immigration, they are only complicating the issue. For Bosbach, the solution lies in implementing corrective measures to limit incentives, a direction she fully supports.
However, the academic community advises caution. In migration research, the simplistic “Push and Pull” model, which dates back to the 1960s, is increasingly criticized for overselling the complexity of migration processes. Experts note that the concept of the “pull factor of the welfare state” while frequently cited, is not evaluated as the single determining or decisive factor.