Bavarian premier urges tougher deportations of criminals to Afghanistan and Syria

Bavarian state premier Markus Soder of Germany said on Friday, 1 November, in a post on the social media platform X that the deportation of criminals and people deemed a security threat, especially to Afghanistan and Syria, would be pursued with greater intensity.

Referring to a 50% drop in asylum applications in Bavaria, he said the region’s strict immigration policies were behind the decline and added that no tolerance for criminals or security threats was acceptable.

The Bavarian premier also said the state’s capacity to receive asylum seekers had fallen by around 20,000 people and that asylum cases were being processed more quickly. He stressed that the government would seriously take the next steps to deport the individuals concerned to their countries of origin.

This comes as the return of asylum seekers to Afghanistan, despite the poor human rights situation and widespread insecurity, continues to face major legal and political obstacles. European countries, including Germany, are seeking to facilitate the return of Afghan asylum seekers by trying to increase cooperation with the Taliban and neighbouring countries.

Germany’s migration policies have become significantly stricter in recent years, and the deportation of asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected or who have criminal records, particularly to Afghanistan, has increased. These policies have raised concerns about negative effects on the human rights situation and the security of asylum seekers, especially Afghans.