GERMANY: Immigration bill restrictive and repressive
01 August 2001
In August, almost a year after Chancellor Schröder announced a Green Card for IT experts, signalling a possible move away from restrictive immigration practices, Home Minister Schily presented a new Immigration Bill. In the intervening period, hopes had been raised that German immigration law would become more open by acknowledging migration as a matter of fact. An independent immigration commission headed by former CDU minister Süssmuth, and staffed by migration experts, employers, Greens and ethnic minority representatives was set up by the Chancellor to provide proposals for a new approach. But unknown to the public the Home Ministry had already drafted a bill, the "Draft act to guide and limit migration and for the regulation of residence and the integration of Union citizens and foreigners".
The bill is accompanied by an additional document which includes a new Residence Act, completely revised regulations on EU citizens, a total overhaul of the Asylum Proceedings Act and the Foreigners Act, changes to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act and numerous changes to welfare and labour market legislation. Subsequently, a new centralised authority, the Federal Department for Asylum and Migration will be set up.
The bill is aimed to rapidly pass throuigh the parliamentary process before the 2002 election campaign starts and become law at the end of 2001 or early in 2002. The overall tone explicitly, or between the lines, says former "guest workers" and today's ethnic minorities a) have not left the country with the end of the post-war boom; b) have instead brought in their families; and c) have failed to integrate.
The new law would replace the existing five immigration statuses with two, a temporary and a permanent status. It introduces a range of purposes (labour, education, family reunion, humanitarian reasons). It offers better conditions for highly-skilled labour migrants, entrepreneurs and, in some circumstances, an earlier entitlement to a permanent status. On the other hand it either confirms or introduces a range of serious conditions. Victims of non-state persecution and gender-specific persecution are not entitled to asylum. The administrative (first instance) adjudicators will lose their obligation for independent judgements and will become subject to directions. Accepted asylum applicants will be regularly re-examined after three years. The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, which reduced benefits, is extended to other groups and will apply for the entire duration of an asylum claim. Potential persecution resulting from exile or political activities in the country of application no longer give entitlement to asylum. Asylum seekers would be allowed to work after 12 months depending on a Labour Office means test.
The Duldung or "Tolerance" status, for those who are served with a deportation order which is not enforceable, (that is 250,000 to 350,000 people), will be abolished. It is feared that most of these people will become "illegal". In future, those served with a deportation order that cannot be enforced (for lack of documentation, unknown identity etc) will be detained in special detention centres.
Regarding immigrants the right to family reunion for children is restricted to the age of 12, although highly-skilled labour migrants are allowed to bring in their children until they reach the age of 18. Integration by way of language and political culture courses and written tests will be obligatory for many immigrants. On the other hand no obligations on the host society's side are acknowledged such as anti-discriminatory policies. Changes in immigration status will only be accepted for students but not for asylum seekers. Furthermore, despite the fact of a high number of undocumented immigrants (500,000 to one million) no provisions are offered for their regularisation as many organisations like the Jesuit Refugee Service, or Caritas and the Bishops Conference have been demanding. In future illegal immigrant