By Michael Sauerbier
Nobody expected this success: since the introduction of fixed border controls, the number of refugees has fallen by 75 percent. But this is not just the fault of the federal police.
“Until October, 80 to 100 refugees came to our initial reception every day,” reported the head of the Central Immigration Office (ZABH), Olaf Jansen (64), on Tuesday, “now only 20 to 30 come per day. The situation has eased significantly.” Currently, 82 percent of the 4,400 initial reception places in Brandenburg are occupied. In mid-October it was still 95 percent.
The main reason for the enormous decline in refugees: Since the start of German border controls, the neighboring countries Poland and the Czech Republic have also been looking very closely at their borders with Slovakia, and the Slovaks are now also looking towards the Balkans. Because they don’t want to be stuck with migrants who would be rejected at the German border.
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU, r.) visits the first new container accommodations in the initial reception facility in Wünsdorf with the head of the central immigration authority Olaf Jansen (l.). Photo: Michael Sauerbier
“A smuggler now has three or four times the chance of being caught,” said ZABH boss Jansen, “before he had no risk at all. Hence the drastic decline in the number of refugees.” Many people smugglers are now not even setting off. Embarrassing for the police union GdP, which had predicted that the border controls would fail. Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (64, CDU) now stated: “The federal government wants to maintain the controls beyond December.”
Despite the decline, Brandenburg is setting up 1,500 more initial reception places. The reason: Refugees without a chance of staying have not been distributed to cities and districts since July. You have to stay in the reception centers in Frankfurt(Oder), Wünsdorf or Eisenhüttenstadt for 18 months, previously only six.
But the construction of the new container accommodation is being delayed: instead of being ready by the end of the year, the 1,500 places will not be ready until February, Stübgen now admitted. Not a single one is ready for occupancy yet, by the end of December there will be at most 700 to 900. Stübgen, who spoke of “Tesla speed”, explained this with “delivery difficulties” and a missing fire escape in an old building that is supposed to accommodate 400 refugees.
However, with the sharp decline in the number of refugees, the time pressure is also decreasing. However, another problem remains: the planned language and training courses in the initial reception do not yet exist. They should increase the refugees’ chances of staying. ZABH boss Jansen to the BZ: “We still lack space and staff for the courses.”