Germany’s parliament has voted to tighten rules on asylum seekers as Berlin takes a tougher stance on immigration following recent far-right electoral gains, AFP reported.
The package of measures will withdraw benefits from asylum seekers who have already been registered in other EU countries and are slated for deportation.
It also means that refugees who temporarily return to their home countries will “as a rule” lose their right to protection in Germany, according to the law.
The same will apply to refugees who commit crimes with anti-Semitic or homophobic motives.
The new rules were proposed by the government in August in response to a fatal stabbing at a festival in the western city of Solingen.
The suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian man with alleged links to the Islamic State group, was slated for deportation but evaded attempts by authorities to deport him.
The whole package would also introduce stricter rules on the carrying of knives and give police wider investigative powers.
Although lawmakers in the Bundestag approved the new rules, they still need to be passed by the upper house of the German parliament, which will meet on Friday (18 October) to decide on them.
A year before a national election and with anti-immigration parties on the rise, the government is under intense pressure to take a tougher stance on immigration.
The aid cuts have drawn sharp criticism from the government, a tripartite coalition between Chancellor Olaf Scholz‘s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal SDP (Free Democratic Party).
After internal discussions, the legislation was changed to provide for exceptions for children and to withdraw benefits only in cases where removal is actually possible.
The introduction of the tougher rules marks a shift in Germany’s attitude to immigration, almost a decade after former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country’s doors to refugees in 2015.
The new German approach comes amid a hardening of attitudes towards immigration across Europe, where far-right parties are gaining increasing support.
On October 17, EU leaders called for urgent new legislation to increase the number and speed of migrant returns.
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