Hundreds of Afghan refugees are legally protesting the German government’s plan to withdraw their acceptance guarantees. Eva Beyer, a spokesperson for the organization Kabul Luftbrücke, informed “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that “around 180 cases are currently before the administrative or higher administrative courts in Berlin and Ansbach”. She added that “an additional 18 constitutional complaints are being prepared”.
Furthermore, 875 Afghans from various German intake programs in Pakistan are currently in limbo. Adding to this are 55 people who were repatriated from Pakistan to Afghanistan last summer. Beyer estimated that “at least 90 percent of the people have initiated legal proceedings, and likely even more”. Of those legally challenging the decision, most lawsuits involve an entire family, averaging about five people per case. Kabul Luftbrücke is coordinating these legal efforts.
The Green Party strongly criticized the federal government, composed of the CDU/CSU and SPD, for imposing deadlines on Afghans in Pakistan regarding leaving the guest houses. During an interview with RND, the Greens’ domestic policy spokesperson, Marcel Emmerich, stated, “It is absolutely unacceptable that the federal government continues to abandon Afghan citizens from German intake programs in Pakistan”. He further argued, “Before the German Constitutional Court has reached a fundamental decision, these people are scheduled to lose all support in just a few days at the behest of the federal government”.
In contrast, only 126 people have reportedly returned to Afghanistan so far after electing to forgo receiving support for relocation to Germany.