Germany is tightening asylum laws with stricter deportation and criminal offenses – Firstpost

The German parliament has voted to tighten rules for asylum seekers, marking a shift towards tougher immigration policies following recent election gains by far-right parties. The new measures will withdraw benefits from asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries and targeted for deportation.

According to the law, refugees who temporarily return to their home countries or commit crimes with anti-Semitic or homophobic motives “as a rule” lose their right to protection in Germany.

A day after announcing it would begin carrying out checks at all land borders, the German government last month unveiled a plan to implement tougher European asylum rules that would result in more people being turned away at borders.

The proposals include detaining asylum seekers while authorities use the European fingerprint database Eurodac, among other things, to determine whether Germany is responsible for handling their case

The new rules were proposed by the government in August in response to a fatal knife attack at a festival in the western city of Solingen.

The suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian with suspected ties to the Islamic State group, was due to be deported but evaded authorities’ attempts to remove him. The overall package also sets stricter rules for carrying knives and gives the police greater investigative powers.

While lawmakers in the Bundestag have approved the new rules, they still need to be passed by Germany’s upper house, which will meet on Friday to decide on them.

With a year to go before national elections and anti-immigrant parties rising in the polls, the government is under intense pressure to take a tougher line on immigration policy.

The benefit cut sparked strong criticism within the government – a three-party coalition made up of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP.

After internal discussions, the legislation was changed to provide exceptions for children and to withdraw support only in cases where deportation was actually possible.

The implementation of the stricter rules marks a shift in German attitudes toward immigration, nearly a decade after former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country’s doors to refugees in 2015.

The new German approach comes amid hardening attitudes towards immigration across Europe, where far-right parties are gaining growing support.

On Thursday, EU leaders called for urgent new laws to increase the number and speed of migrant returns.

Berlin says it needs to tackle irregular migration due to strained public services and protect the public from threats such as Islamist extremism.

With input from agencies.