An increasing number of refugees in Germany are turning to churches for protection due to rising threats of deportation. The Protestant Church in Germany reported a significant increase in requests for church asylum, as the incoming government plans to escalate deportations. Many refugees are facing insecurity regarding their residency status, with requests for church shelter sometimes quadrupling. Although churches have historically offered refuge as a humanitarian tradition, high demand has left many requests unfulfilled, leaving numerous asylum seekers without protection from authorities.
"The number of requests has risen significantly in many places as a result of increased pressure to deport, with requests sometimes more than quadrupling," an EKD spokeswoman told the German dpa news agency.
Dietlind Jochims noted 'growing fear and insecurity among people with unsecured residency.' Consequently, the growing fear of deportation is leading to a 'sharp increase in the number of requests for church protection,' Jochims told newspapers.
Churches in Germany have given temporary shelter to refugees for decades under a special privilege that has no solid basis in law but is given rather in accordance with the country's Christian and humanitarian traditions.
The incoming government under to-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) has announced its intention to deport more asylum seekers than in the past after the number of deportations has already begun to rise again under the outgoing government.
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