A German court has ruled that the government’s policy of turning asylum seekers away at its borders is illegal, delivering a significant setback to one of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s key immigration strategies.
The Berlin Administrative Court said on Monday that individuals expressing a desire to seek asylum while undergoing a border check on German soil cannot be turned back before it is established which EU member state is responsible for processing the asylum claim, as outlined under the EU’s Dublin Regulation.
The ruling came in response to an appeal brought by three Somali nationals who were intercepted at a border control checkpoint at a railway station on the Polish-German border. Despite stating their intention to seek asylum, the trio were returned to Poland on the same day.
The controversial border pushback policy, which targets virtually all undocumented migrants including potential asylum seekers, was swiftly implemented following Merz’s inauguration last month. The crackdown on irregular migration formed a central part of Merz’s campaign in February’s general election.
That election saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secure a record high of over 20 percent of the vote. Merz has argued that tougher migration controls are essential to curbing the AfD’s growing influence.