The Zurich security director accuses the federal authorities of shirking their responsibility.
His canton has to accept the most refugees: Mario Fehr.
There is movement in the asylum sector: A few days ago, the federal government announced that it would close nine temporary federal asylum centers at the end of January because the number of asylum seekers is declining.
This also has consequences for the canton of Zurich: a multi-purpose hall in Dübendorf with 200 seats and a civil defense facility in the city of Zurich with 95 seats are no longer needed.
Actually, one would think that this is good news, also from Zurich’s perspective. But the highest person responsible for asylum in Zurich, government councilor Mario Fehr (independent), is not happy about these federal plans. He told the media on Tuesday that the federal asylum centers were being closed hastily: “The federal government is shirking its responsibility.”
There are still over 12,000 asylum procedures pending at the federal level. In addition to these open asylum requests, there were around 5,000 outstanding S protection status cases for war refugees from Ukraine. The Swiss asylum system is only designed for 5,000 pending cases, said Fehr.
The clear message from Zurich: The federal government should not reduce its capacities, but should finally reduce its outstanding work.
Almost 2,000 more people in one year
It is a criticism that Fehr makes again and again, most recently in the NZZ just a few days ago. He is not alone in this; other cantons are also feeling the pressure. But as the most populous canton, Zurich has to accept the most refugees, asylum seekers and protection seekers – there were not quite 34,000 at the end of September 2024. A year before that there were a good 32,000.
This is not only felt by the canton, which has doubled its own accommodation capacity to 2,200 places. It also affects the communities.
In 2021, Zurich’s 160 municipalities collectively had to accept fewer than 6,000 asylum seekers. In the meantime, they have been joined by over 12,000 people with protection status S from Ukraine. The total inventory has therefore tripled.
The canton of Zurich had to oblige the municipalities to accept significantly more people within a short period of time. Instead of 5 people per 1,000 inhabitants as before the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the admission rate is currently 16 people per 1,000 inhabitants.
This presents communities with major challenges, especially because living space is already scarce and expensive in the canton of Zurich. In addition, temporary asylum accommodation, such as container buildings, are repeatedly a case for the courts.
But there is a little relaxation for the communities. The admission quota is currently not being fully utilized, said Fehr. It is around 14 people per 1,000 inhabitants. Accordingly, increasing the quota again is not an issue either this year or until the end of 2025.
All communities would make every effort to accommodate the people, said Fehr. “It’s not easy for the mayors. The climate has not become friendlier.”
But anyone who opposes larger asylum accommodation in the communities is simply accepting that the housing market will become even tighter, said the security director. Collective accommodation is the best solution.
The Zurich SVP also pointed out the situation in the communities on Tuesday. The party wrote in a statement that they had reached the limit of what was possible. If the federal government does not finally take responsibility, the costs and social burden on communities will continue to rise. More consistent returns are needed.
The FDP criticizes the closure of the federal asylum centers. This step is irresponsible and incomprehensible, the party writes in a statement. The party also demands a legal upper limit for the municipalities’ acceptance rate: This should be a maximum of 1 percent, i.e. 10 people per 1,000 inhabitants.
Improvements with the Turkish authorities
Right there, with the returns, there is movement on an important point. Rejected asylum seekers in emergency assistance must leave Switzerland again and either return to a country in the Dublin area or travel directly to their homeland. However, this is not so easy in all cases.
In an interview with the NZZ ten days ago, Mario Fehr mentioned that the largest group of emergency aid recipients, the Turks, had to overcome particularly high administrative hurdles. Cooperation with the Turkish authorities is complicated.
But that should now improve. Fehr said that there had been a discussion with the Turkish Consulate General after the article in the NZZ and that they would intensify their efforts. The federal government also wants to deploy more forces to reduce the mountain of pending Turkish dossiers.
From Mario Fehr’s point of view, the federal government should take action on another point: the list of safe countries of origin. Switzerland does not even respond to asylum requests from nationals of these countries. The list today primarily includes European countries from Albania to Cyprus, as well as India and Mongolia in Asia and Senegal and Ghana in Africa. Fehr believes that the Maghreb states in particular could also be included on the list.
He is also once again calling for a solution for protection status S. Anyone who came to Switzerland at the beginning of the war in Ukraine and works here should receive a residence permit. This should also apply to those who cannot work for excusable reasons, such as caring for small children. The Zurich security director thinks everyone else should go. There are also safe areas in Ukraine. In addition, abuses must also be consistently combated with status S.
