After a lengthy tug-of-war within the German coalition government, the lower house, or Bundestag, passed a bill on Thursday evening including a series of measures such as extended custody to prevent deportations from failing at the last minute.
In order to facilitate the deportation of foreigners without the right to stay, the measures include the extension of the legal maximum duration of detention pending deportation from 10 days to 28 days.
In addition, representatives of the authorities are now also allowed to enter rooms in shared accommodation other than just the room of the person being deported.
In the past, deportations have repeatedly failed because the people concerned could no longer be found.
The bill was taken off the agenda at short notice in the last session week before Christmas because one of the coalition partners, the Greens, had demanded improvements. At the insistence of the Greens, it is now ensured that those affected are provided with a lawyer.
The law also provides for tougher action against people smugglers. Due to protests from human rights organizations, a subsequently inserted passage is intended to clarify that this does not criminalize the rescue of refugees at sea.
Source: DPA International
