Germany should stop handing cash to migrants claiming asylum there, one of the parties that make up the country’s ruling coalition has said.
The Free Democrats (FDP) have instead advocated for migrants to be directly provided with the goods and services needed to live as part of attempts to toughen Germany’s stance on mass migration.
According to a report by Bild, the FDP is also advocating for migrants to be provided with special bank cards for the purchase of things the state cannot directly provide them with.
Such cards would not allow money to be transferred out of the country, preventing migrants from sending welfare obtained in Germany back to their home countries in the form of remittances.
Spearheaded by the FDP’s finance minister Christian Lindner, the proposed reforms also include the acceleration of deportations, as well as the expansion of the list of designated “safe” countries Germany can deport migrants to.
He also wants to see the asylum claims processed outside of the European Union, as well as further measures being taken to tighten border controls on the bloc’s external borders.
For migrants who have their claims rejected, Lindner advocates for faster deportations.
Those found to have submitted bogus applications should also be handed longer incarceration times, with the minister pushing for migrants to be given 28 days in detention before removal as opposed to just the 10 under the current system.
"The Poles viewed this as a case of weaponized migration and quickly built a border wall, initially opposed by the main opposition."
Adam Starzynski, Editor of @Visegrad24, discusses the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border ahead of next month's elections. pic.twitter.com/dXGmSXmfXR
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 18, 2023
Commentators have viewed the proposed changes as an attempt by the FDP to make Germany less attractive to would-be migrants.
Like many other nations across Europe, Germany has seen a substantial spike in illegal border crossings in recent months, with the number of asylum claims reaching highs not seen since 2016.
While some in the country are now pushing for efforts to be taken to stem the flow, others appear to be content to continue enabling mass migration into Germany.
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser has continued pushing for the expansion of migrant legal rights in the country.
She is now advocating for would-be asylum seekers to be handed the right to vote in the country’s local elections just six months after they arrive.
The proposal has been castigated as “dangerous” by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
“The right to vote is not a football for election campaigns, but one of our highest democratic values - and must be reserved for members of our state,” senior party member Manfred Pentz remarked.
“Opening up this right to vote at will and only linking it to mere residence rather than citizenship contradicts our democratic principles and we as the CDU clearly reject it.”
Former supporters and members of the opposition are attacking the Italian prime minister for failing to prevent the recent arrival of thousands of illegal migrants. https://t.co/OiW2FM1jQo
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 18, 2023
