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Germany falls two thirds short of its immigration caps

Germany faced two-thirds of migrants numbers last year. The root cause is obvious which is hitting all targets for migration, traveling, and tourism (report infomigrant.net).

According to the latest government figures provided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on the number of migrants in 2020, less than 67,500 migrated and applied for asylum in Germany.

Experts pointed out other reasons also for the decline in migration, which will be mentioned later – but the 2020 Coronavirus maintained uncertainty, which not only reduced the number of migrants but also kept reviewing policies from time to time.

The number of children of asylum seekers was born in Germany was more than 20,000 in 2020. If we add this number into the net number of immigrants it is still less than 100,000 as a whole. On the other hand, a set-aside quota is allowed of 180,000 to 220,000 cases of annual net immigration to Germany for asylum purposes.

The decline in immigration started in 2019. The total number of immigrants including their children was more than 126,000 in 2019 and 159,000 in 2018. In addition to coronavirus, immigration policies are also being blamed for the decline. The opposition party blamed the development on Germany’s “isolationist policies” – citing the introduction of quotas and caps on illegal immigration and asylum in 2018.

According to the ministry, it recorded just over 76,000 first-time asylum applications last year and mostly came from nationals from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey. On the other hand, more than 1.1 million applications were received in 2015 and 2016 during Europe’s so-called migrant crisis. For previously received asylum applications, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decided the asylum applications of 145,071 people in 2020.

Left Party spokeswoman for domestic affairs, Elsa Jelpke, criticized the practice of limiting the number of net immigrants allowed to go to Germany – despite the fact that last year’s number was one-third of the legally allowed quota. Germany achieved only one-third of the upper limit in 2020, as the country continues to deport failed refugees to their home countries.  

While Germany is reporting a permanent setback, the number of migrants and refugees around the world continued to rise in 2020, according to Ulla Jelpke. Germany’s governing parties, led by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, agreed three years ago to set some certain caps on irregular immigration to Germany. The number agreed upon by the three parties after lengthy negotiations were 180,000 to 220,000 cases of annual net immigration to Germany for asylum purposes. The policy came in response to the “refugee crisis” of 2015 and 2016, when more than 1 million people, mostly fleeing the ongoing civil war in Syria, fled to Germany.