Your views: 'Foreigners in Germany will always feel like second class citizens'

"We've picked out some recent contributions on the subjects of integration to how well the locals speak English. The tightening political and economic landscape across Europe, particularly in Germany, has profoundly affected the lives of foreign residents. While news headlines report on legislative shifts and the rise of the far-right, our readers' comments cut through the policy talk to reveal the personal tensions and paradoxes of being an immigrant in Germany today."

"One reader, named Gordon, wrote passionately about the perceived contradiction between official expectations and daily reality for non-native residents. "On the one hand, they complain that foreigners fail to 'integrate', and then they turn around and tell you that no matter how much you do integrate, no matter how much effort you put into it, they'll never treat you the same as a natural-born citizen. You'll always be a second-class citizen," Gordon said."

Tightening political and economic conditions across Europe, particularly Germany, have profoundly affected foreign residents' lives. Legislative shifts and the growth of the far-right produce personal tensions and paradoxes for immigrants. Even well-integrated foreigners remain immigrants and can be subject to the consequences of a hardening political climate. Expectations to integrate often conflict with experiences of being treated differently from natural-born citizens. Some non-native residents express deep frustration at contradictory demands, while others find hope in pushback from press, civil society, and some municipalities against far-right policies. Debates include fair treatment, integration, language proficiency, and everyday challenges.

Read at The Local Germany