German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman said on Friday that the current government has made “visible success” in limiting irregular migration, even if the results remain short of overall goals.
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Germany fell by 30% in 2024 compared to the previous year, while the number of deportations increased by around 20%, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin.
Hebestreit said that Scholz’s government has a record of notable achievements on the issue despite severe criticism from the opposition.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) published new figures on Friday, showing that while the number of people applying for asylum in Germany rose in January compared to the previous month, it remains well below levels seen a year earlier.
The number of first-time asylum applications rose by 22.5% compared to December, hitting 14,920. However, this is far below the 26,376 people who applied in January 2024.
Even after the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad, Syria remains the top country of origin for people applying for asylum in Germany, accounting for 30.4% of all new asylum claims, the agency said.
After Syria, Afghanistan (13%) and Turkey (11.2%) were the source of the most asylum-seekers filing new applications in Germany.
Many of the applications submitted for Syrian nationals concern children born in Germany, the agency said.
Germany suspended decisions on Syrian asylum cases on December 9, following al-Assad’s decision to flee the country in the face of an offensive by anti-regime Islamist forces.
German officials justified the pause by saying that time is needed to assess the current situation in Syria, which would impact the cases of people claiming protection from dangers there.
Migration policy has become a dominant issue in the political campaign ahead of Germany’s election on February 23.
Last week, the centre-right opposition bloc led by Friedrich Merz, the favourite to replace Scholz after the election, introduced controversial proposals to tighten migration policy in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
One motion passed with the help of the far-right Alternative for Germany, in a step which was widely seen by critics as a rupture of the long-held taboo in Germany against any form of cooperation with the far right.
Scholz has contended that passing legislation to address migration remains possible if opposition lawmakers back proposals from his minority coalition with the Greens.
Hebestreit on Friday pointed to what he said were a whole series of bills being held up by the opposition bloc in the upper chamber, the Bundesrat.
Scholz’s spokesman said parties that are truly concerned about the issue should come together and reach an agreement before the election.
