Photo credit: Daily Mail
German cities have reported an easing of the national immigration “emergency” after asylum claims were cut by half amid a crackdown by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Daily Mail reports that the chancellor had scrapped the open border system of the previous administration by issuing orders to turn undocumented migrants away from the nation.
Alexander Dobrindt, the interior minister, rescinded Angela Merkel’s 2015 order in May. It means everyone without proper documentation, apart from children and pregnant women, would be turned away if they tried to enter Germany from a neighbouring country.
During Merz’s election campaign, he made reducing immigration a top policy on his agenda. He revoked Merkel’s order on his first day in office.
Dobrindt increased border force personnel massively. Merz also said Syrians would be deported to their home country while suspending family reunification rights for migrants who fall short of full asylum status.
Since the start of 2025, there were 61,336 new asylum applications, half as many as were recorded over the same period last year.
