Since the introduction of fixed border controls, the number of refugees has fallen by 75 percent Photo: dpa/BZ-Montage
By Michael Sauerbier
The border controls in Brandenburg are having an effect. A comment from BZ editor Michael Sauerbier.
Brandenburg and Saxony had been calling for permanent border controls for months. Because cities and districts are groaning under the influx of refugees.
But for Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) the situation was not bad enough. Only after the election defeats in Hesse and Bavaria did Faeser give in.
The police union and the AfD promptly warned: The controls are of no use. The officials feared extra work, the right-wing agitators feared the success of the measures.
Now the surprise: since the controls began, the number of refugees has fallen by three quarters.
But Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) knows: border controls can only be a first emergency measure. The smugglers will not permanently miss out on billions in profits.
Agreements with other countries must now follow in order to permanently stop the flow of refugees.