In Germany, problems with carrying out deportations are mounting — the result of years of neglect in migration policy. According to a federal government report in response to an AfD parliamentary inquiry (Drucksache 21/4403), in mid-2025 some 226,506 individuals were subject to departure orders. Despite all efforts, as the federal government assures, only 22,787 people were deported in 2025, while 16,918 deportation attempts ended in failure.
The government report emphasizes that the high number of rejected asylum applications — 209,824 at a rejection rate of 72.80 percent — leads to a cumulation of problems, and that in Germany's view the Dublin III system is dysfunctional. These shortcomings are undermining public trust in the German government — as many as 53 percent of Germans demand a halt to migrant admissions.
One of the key problems are legal barriers arising from the Dublin III regulation. Countries such as Italy and Greece refuse to accept migrants who, in Germany's view, first arrived by boat across the Mediterranean, leading to dysfunction of the entire system. The German government has reached an agreement with these countries, waiving transfers until mid-2026 — a move critics describe as rewarding lawbreaking. A ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in November 2025 requires a court order for searches, further complicating deportations.
Added to this is the lack of cooperation from countries of origin — for instance in issuing documents — which affects 63 percent of rejected asylum seekers who lack passports. The average processing time for return assistance applications is 50 days, and the lack of coordination in Dublin procedures further slows deportations. In 2025, 17,528 individuals received so-called Duldung (tolerated stay — a temporary suspension of deportation for a foreign national who is legally obligated to leave the country, but whose deportation is impossible for technical or humanitarian reasons) on the basis of §60b of the Residence Act due to unclear identity.
Humanitarian challenges include risks in the countries from which migrants arrived in Germany — for example, problems with the treatment of immigrants in Italian or Greek camps, which block deportations of particularly vulnerable groups. In 2025, medical reasons prevented 134 deportations, and suicide attempts prevented 19. The agreement with Italy and Greece may encourage secondary migration, increasing the number of asylum applications.
Data from 2025 show low effectiveness: monthly deportations ranged from 1,477 in December to 2,278 in March, with success in only 11,807 cases in the first half of the year versus 16,918 failures. Compared with other EU countries, Germany achieves a mere 5 percent effectiveness rate (EU average: 27 percent). By the end of last year, the number of individuals subject to departure orders had risen to 232,067, including 158,053 with rejected asylum claims and 190,974 with Duldung status. Voluntary departures with border confirmation were carried out by 36,177 individuals, mainly Turks (8,324) and Syrians (4,408). Support programs such as StarthilfePlus covered 8,861 individuals, and EURP covered 4,921.
[The author, Aleksandra Fedorska, is a journalist for Tysol.pl and numerous Polish and German media outlets]
[Title, "What You Need to Know" and "The Origins of the Migration Crisis in Germany and Europe" sections, and some subheadings by the Editorial Team]
One of the key moments that shaped Europe's current migration situation was the European migration crisis. In 2015, more than one million people arrived in the European Union, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa. The decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who adopted a policy known by the slogan "Herzlich Willkommen" ("A Warm Welcome"), had a particularly significant impact on the course of events. In practice, this meant opening Germany's borders to a large number of refugees and sending a signal that the country was ready to accept people seeking protection.
This decision was widely debated across Europe and became one of the most important elements of the migration debate. Supporters emphasized its humanitarian character and the need to help people fleeing war. Critics argued that the decision contributed to increased migration pressure on Germany and other EU states and exposed the limitations of mechanisms such as the Dublin Convention, which determines which state is responsible for processing an asylum application.
In the years that followed, many European states began tightening their migration policies. However, the consequences of the 2015 decision and the tensions related to the EU asylum system remain visible to this day. The debate on reforming the asylum system and the effectiveness of deportations remains one of the main political topics both in Germany and across the European Union.
