The anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) branch in Bavaria passed a resolution at its conference on Saturday, November 23rd, which urges the mass return of foreigners to their home countries and the prevention of asylum seekers from ever reaching German soil.
The resolution, entitled the “Bavarian resolution for remigration,” proposes that the European Union and the German government establish “protection and development zones outside of Europe,” so that non-European asylum seekers are no longer granted protection on German or EU territory.
The resolution also states that “groups with weak integration abilities and willingness” should be returned to their home countries through mandatory return programmes “and supported in their reintegration into their society of origin, as well as in the (re)building of their homeland.”
The proposals reflect the ever-growing discontent within the EU about its leaders’ inability to handle the migration crisis, which has resulted in the uncontrolled arrival of millions of illegal migrants to Europe in the past decade.
Even the left-liberal German government—which has espoused pro-migration policies—has been forced to take a tougher stance following a spate of crimes committed by migrants this year, including the murder of a policeman in Mannheim and a terrorist attack in Solingen.
The scandal of mass illegal immigration and the inability of many migrants to integrate into society has contributed to the rise of two anti-immigration parties, the right-wing AfD and the left-wing Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, both of whom performed strongly in recent state elections.
The government’s main opposition, the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance, has also taken a tougher stance on asylum policy. Its leader, Friedrich Merz has called for illegal migrants—who do not have a right to asylum—to be turned back at Germany’s border.
The Bavarian AfD’s proposal to establish hotspots outside the EU, where asylum applications can be assessed, is a proposition that more and more European leaders are calling for. Deporting rejected asylum seekers and criminal migrants is another action that right-wing and conservative politicians advocate, but the idea to oust migrants who are unwilling to integrate, but who haven’t committed any crimes, is something new.
The proposal has upset the mainstream parties in Germany, with Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann (CSU) saying that AfD’s plans are “out of the question.”
AfD’s interpretation of remigration means an extremely xenophobic and in some cases racist policy. That is out of the question. It is completely incompatible with our principles of humanity and order.
The leader of the Greens’ parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Britta Haßelmann, said “we must protect our country, democracy, and freedom from the enemies of democracy.” She added that the AfD is “no longer forging its deportation plans in secret meetings, like in Potsdam, but making decisions at party conferences.”
The right-wing party has been falsely accused by the left-wing media of wanting to deport even German citizens with a migrant background. The proposal was said to have been talked about at a “secret meeting” in Potsdam a year ago, but the reports have turned out to be false. Yet the mainstream media, as well as political establishment figures like Haßelmann, keep sticking to this false narrative.
If current opinion polls are to be believed, the AfD will finish runners-up in the upcoming federal elections next February, with 19.5% of the electorate intending to vote for the party. This would be their best result at a national election, and would mean a ten-point increase on their result in 2021.
