Following the Islamist attack on Christopher Street Day in Berlin, the Union is instrumentalizing the incident for an age-old demand: tougher deportation rules for foreign offenders. Anyone who commits crimes against queer people, women, or Christians should, in the future, lose their right to remain in the country — at least this is what the Union’s domestic policy spokesman, Alexander Throm (CDU), demanded in Welt am Sonntag (paywalled article).
“The horrific attack on Christopher Street Day in Berlin has once again shown this: fanatic Islamists reject our way of life not only, they fight it with hatred and violence,” Throm told the newspaper. “This time, that hate targeted the queer community.” He does not mention that the perpetrator of the attack was a German citizen and therefore would not be captured by his own proposal, the CDU politician does not mention this.
No New Idea
Not a new idea anyway: Throm had already after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 proposed a so-called standard deportation for foreign offenders with antisemitic motive. The proposal did make it into the coalition agreement of the Union and the SPD, but discussions in the government on this matter are still ongoing.
This concept is now to be broadened to additional groups. “We should think further about standard deportation,” Throm told the newspaper. “What applies to crimes with antisemitic motives should also apply to crimes committed with motives against women, queer people, or Christians.” The equality of men and women, the acceptance of queer life, the rejection of antisemitism as well as freedom of religion and Christian culture are “fundamental values of our country,” the CDU politician said. “Who not only rejects these values but actively fights them has no place in our country.” However, even among German politicians from the Union and the AfD, acceptance of queer life remains difficult.
Because deportations often fail due to missing papers or because those affected go into hiding, Throm also calls for an exit detention for serious offenders and danger cases. They should be held for as long as it takes until they return to their home country “voluntarily.”
Criticism from the German Bar Association
Whether the CDU initiative would have any practical effect is questionable. Under existing law, foreigners can already lose their residence status, but high legal hurdles apply. Courts require, according to Welt am Sonntag, an individual case assessment. Deportation is particularly difficult for people born in Germany, who hold a settlement permit, or who have a family with German citizenship.
Consequently, the legal assessment remains skeptical. Thomas Oberhäuser, head of the Migration Law Working Group at the German Bar Association, expressed clear doubts about the practical value of a standard deportation. “The current rules derive from EU law and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),” Oberhäuser is quoted by Welt am Sonntag. “The ECtHR has listed minimum standards by which deportations can take place: in each individual case, deportation interests must be weighed against residency interests.”
Also the SPD is conspicuously keeping a low profile. They want to do more “to protect queer life from violence and exclusion,” said parliamentary vice-chair Sonja Eichwede to Welt am Sonntag — but the party did not comment on Throm’s concrete proposal for tougher deportation rules. What is considered important are “notably preventive measures to ensure crimes do not happen in the first place, as well as consistent prosecution and punishment of all offenders regardless of origin.” Only then can broader protection be guaranteed. (mize)
