German municipalities are calling for federal responsibility in deportations. Cities and municipalities are still heavily burdened with the intake, accommodation and integration of people who have fled to Germany, said André Berghegger, CEO of the German Association of Cities and Municipalities (DStGB), in an interview with the New Osnabrück Times. “It is therefore urgently necessary to relieve municipalities. This also includes bundling the responsibilities for the deportation of people without a right to stay with the federal government.”
“A bundled responsibility would significantly contribute to the efficient, coordinated and swift deportation of people without a right to stay” Berghegger said. “This is particularly urgent in the case of recidivist or rejected asylum seekers.” A federal responsibility would also enable municipalities to focus more on integrating people with a right to stay, he added.
The shocking events in Solingen and most recently in Aschaffenburg have shown that deportations have been delayed and ultimately failed due to a lack of coordination between the responsible authorities, particularly the federal and state governments, he said. “Therefore, we need a clear responsibility, short decision-making processes and fewer coordination requirements – not least to improve the sense of security for the people in our country.” If it were clear that dangerous individuals and felons would be deported quickly and efficiently, “then the concerns of the citizens will be reduced” Berghegger was convinced.