A new report from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) highlights stark differences in crime rates between German and foreign suspects, with Syrians and Afghans showing particularly high figures. The federal report Crime in the Context of Migration for 2024 reveals that, across numerous types of offenses, Syrians and Afghans appear as suspects significantly more often than German citizens.
Among Germans, 163 suspects per 100,000 inhabitants are recorded. By contrast, Syrians account for 1,740 and Afghans for 1,722 per 100,000. A similar pattern emerges in sexual and drug-related offenses. Overall, non-German suspects now make up over 40% of all cases, while the proportion of foreign convicts has grown over the past decade and now exceeds one-third.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) told Bild that the government plans to respond with tougher measures. Migrants who integrate, work, and obey the law may remain in Germany, but those who commit crimes or pose a threat risk losing this right. The ministry is preparing deportations to Afghanistan and Syria to remove offenders and potential threats from the country.
Meanwhile, the German government has also attempted—unsuccesfully—to curb new arrivals by offering Afghan asylum seekers €1,000 each to withdraw from its relocation program. So far, only about 10%, or 62 individuals, have accepted the offer. Aid organizations such as Kabul Airlift report that only a handful of families agreed, usually because visas to other countries were included.
Despite these efforts, the challenge persists: so far, five flights carrying Afghan migrants have arrived under the Merz administration from the Pakistani capital—highlighting the German government’s failure to manage migration.
