"On a visit to Potsdam last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz talked about how his government was toughening up its migration policy. The primary aim, he said, was to continue to combat what he called illegal immigration. Then he added another sentence, which has since caused a furor: "But we still have this problem in the cityscape, of course, and that's why the federal interior minister is facilitating and carrying out large-scale deportations.""
"The offhand remark has been widely criticized as racist, with many saying the chancellor is echoing the rhetoric of the far-right, anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Critics from the opposition Greens and the Left Party, but also from Merz's center-left coalition partners, the SPD, have accused the chancellor of fomenting prejudice and furthering societal division by suggesting that diverse urban populations should be targets for deportation, while incrrectly blaming them for high crime rates, harassment, and sexual assaults."
"Merz has rejected the criticism, though he acknowledged on the sidelines of a summit on the Western Balkans in London on Wednesday that people with a migrant background were "an indispensable part of our labor market." He also claimed, however, that many people in Germany and across Europe were nonetheless "afraid to move around in public spaces" due to migrants "who do not have permanent residence status, do not work, and do not abide by our rules.""
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government is toughening migration policy to combat illegal immigration and that the federal interior minister is carrying out large-scale deportations. The remark was widely criticized as racist and accused of echoing far-right, anti-migration AfD rhetoric. Opposition Greens, the Left Party, and SPD coalition partners accused him of fomenting prejudice and societal division by targeting diverse urban populations and wrongly blaming them for crime, harassment, and sexual assaults. Merz rejected the criticism but acknowledged that people with migrant backgrounds are an indispensable part of the labor market, while claiming many Germans fear public spaces because of migrants without permanent residence, jobs, or rule-abiding behavior. Thousands have marched in protest.
Read at www.dw.com
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