After planet War II, Western Germany faced a immense shortage of labour.
Since 1955, agreements have been concluded with countries specified as Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey or Yugoslavia, under which the alleged 'Germans' arrived. Gastarbeiters – temporary staff. Although they were originally planned for a short stay, many settled permanently.
From moratorium to Willkommenskultur
After the introduction of the immigration moratorium in 1973, the number of foreigners in Germany continued to grow through household reunification. The 1980s and 1990s brought a wave of refugees from east Europe and the Balkans – especially from the erstwhile Yugoslavia, as a consequence of war and destabilisation.
The climax was the 2015 migration wave, erstwhile Germany – guided by humanitarian considerations and politics ‘Willkommenskultur’ – opened the borders to more than 1 million refugees, mainly Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
International obligations - the function of the UN and the European Union
Although the United Nations Charter itself (1945) does not straight regulate migration, Germany is signatories to key documents: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Geneva Convention on the position of Refugees (1951) along with the fresh York Protocol (1967), the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Lisbon Treaty.
Germany is so obliged to guarantee protection for the persecuted and to conduct sound asylum procedures. Refusing to accept refugees for purely political reasons would be contrary to global law.
Current data – who is coming to Germany today?
According to Microcensus 2024, as many as 21.2 million people surviving in Germany have a migration background – 25.6% of the full population. Compared to 2023, this represents an increase of 800,000 people. In 2023 1,93 million people arrived in Germany, while 1.27 million left the country. This gives a affirmative balance of +662,964 people, although it is half as tiny as in 2022 erstwhile the mass escape from Ukraine lasted.
Asylum and irregular migration
In May 2025 7,916 fresh asylum applications were submitted, which is the lowest monthly consequence in 4 years. From January to May, 62,897 applications were submitted – much little than a year earlier (112,609). The German authorities consider this a consequence of a fresh migration policy.
Demographic challenges – is migration necessary?
German society is ageing rapidly. The average age of a German citizen is 47 years, while people with a migrant background are on average 38 years old. Already about 15–19% of workers in the healthcare and nursing sector are foreigners. According to the national Labour Agency, Germany needs at least 400,000 workers per year from abroad to keep the stableness of social systems and the labour market.
Can Germany completely halt the influx of migrants and deport illegal residents?
Although any political environments, especially Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) calls for complete closure of borders, in practice Germany cannot, for legal or economical reasons, retreat from global commitments to refugees and migrants. The Geneva Convention prohibits people from returning to countries in which they are in danger. In addition, many countries of origin do not cooperate on deportation issues – they refuse to confirm their identity or to accept citizens back.
Moreover, Germany is presently in the process of reforming migration law, which facilitates legal labour migration, especially for qualified people from outside the EU. The request for migrants in the labour marketplace is so large that complete isolation would be detrimental to the economy. A real debate is, therefore, not about “or accept?” but about “who, as well as what principles”.
Important question
Migration to Germany is simply a historical and multifaceted process. The country has been 1 of the main destinations for refugees, workers and their families for decades. global legal commitments and demographic structure make it impossible for Germany to completely close borders or deport all illegal residents from above. Instead, there is present a policy of selective and regulated migration, while strengthening borders, improving deportation and speeding up asylum procedures. The challenge is to keep a balance between humanitarianism, the realities of the labour marketplace and social expectations.
Many German observers and the majority of German society surely ask: Will Germany last the uncontrollable influx of the culturally alien population? specified a question is indeed frequently raised in public and media debate. However, it is worth addressing it with work and facts, due to the fact that the subject of migration and integration is not only a substance of emotion and identity, but besides of demography, economics and law. He is feared by the failure of social cohesion, cultural values, safety and national identity. However, they are worth rationalizing.
What does “uncontrolled” mean?
In fact, migration to Germany is controlled by the asylum system, residence rights, EU rules and global conventions. The 2015 Chaos according to the national Government was an exception, not a rule. Since then, the procedures have been importantly tightened and the number of recently admitted refugees has been reduced.
The question of "a culturally alien population"
There is no denying that migration from Muslim or African countries brings integration challenges – from language barriers to planet views. But is German society vulnerable? Nope. The state invests in integration programmes, language learning, housing, education and employment. The problem is that the interest in these programs among the arrivals is negligible. By Bundesamt für Migration, over 60% of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan have found employment in 5 years.
Survive – but in what form?
Germany will surely not become an "Arabic" or "Islamic" country, as utmost narratives want. Cultural changes are a fact, but German culture has always been dynamic and changing – from Christianity, to the influx of Huguenots, Ashkenazi Jews, to integration with Poles and Turks. The question should be: how will Germany become a modern multiethnic society without losing the regulation of law and democracy?
Non-survival German is simply a story based on fear, not on fact. The challenges are real – especially in terms of education, safety and cultural integration – but the German state has the resources, structure and awareness to take them. The biggest threat may not be the influx of migrants, but the failure of public assurance in their institutions and political polarisation.
Reemigration
This is simply a very serious subject that needs a multifaceted consequence due to the fact that it touches on migration policy, safety policy, gender, global law and ethics.
The postulate of "remigration" by AfD (Alternative for Germany) is 1 of its most controversial and widely criticized slogans, peculiarly in the context of the Constitution of the national Republic of Germany, EU law and global standards.
What does ‘reemigration’ mean? AfD means the successive return of immigrants (including those with the right of residence) who have not been "integrated" or come from abroad cultural circles. Sometimes there are besides suggestions to retreat citizenship* "naturalized" Germans with dual citizenship. Would reemigration improve social and economical security, especially for German women?
Social security
Immigrants from non-EU countries (so-called Drittstaaten) they frequently collect social benefits in the first years. However, after 5-10 years, the employment rate among many of these groups (e.g. Syrians) is expanding significantly, as reported by data from BAMF and IAB. Although reemigration on a mass scale could temporarily relieve the social system, it would besides origin serious problems – including in sectors where there are no hands to work (health care, construction, logistics). The costs of deportation and possible damages or global actions (e.g. ETPCz) could outweigh possible "social savings".
Women's safety
AfD frequently combines the subject of migration with crime against women. It is actual that any cases of sexual assault (like fresh Year's Eve 2015 in Cologne) were linked to immigrants. However, according to statistic of the German Police (BKA), most sexual crimes are committed by Muslims, but besides by German citizens (for citizenship it is adequate to have a passport, source: Kriminalität im Kontext von Zuwanderung – Bundeslagebild 2023). Reemigration will not solve systemic problems of force against women – specified as deficiency of legal protection, education, prevention or support for victims.
Political and legal implications
Mass deportations of persons with the right of residence or "citizenship" would be contrary to Grundgesetz (German Constitution) and European Human Rights Law. This could lead to the global isolation of Germany and deepening interior divisions. Although the AfD presents remigration as a “problem-solving”, there is no evidence in fact that mass deportations would importantly improve the situation of German women in terms of safety or access to benefits.
This proposal would have serious legal, social and economical consequences. There are more effective and compatible ways of improving safety and integration: e.g. better education, stricter enforcement of criminal law, fast deportations of truly illegal migrants. Unfortunately, the German Government is not utilizing its rights and instruments, and that is the most interesting thing about immigration policy.
Is Germany, contrary to the authoritative version, inactive occupied by the US and this is what prevents the country from acting independently? That's the question...
*In the current RFN, citizenship means having a paper Einbürgerungsurkunde or passport, not attachment to blood and origin/birth. Any foreigner, regardless of cultural origin or nationality, may apply for specified a document. Just his legal, 8-year stay, work and language cognition at B1 level. Die Grünen and SPD, in the erstwhile line-up in the Bundestag they wanted to shorten their stay from 8 to 5 years, or even depart from the request to talk German.
Matthäus Golla
Literature and sources:
– Herbert, U., History of migration policy in Germany (C.H. Beck, 2017);
Bade, K.J., Europe on the move. Migrations from the 18th century until today (C.H. Beck, 2000);
– BAMF, Migrationsbericht 2023, https://www.bamf.de;
– Destatis, Microzensus 2024, https://www.destatis.de;
– SVR – Council of Migration Experts, Annual study 2024, https://www.svr-migration.de;
– Geneva Convention (1951), https://www.unhcr.org;
– Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), https://www.un.org;
– IW Köln, economical analyses of migration, https://www.iwkoeln.de;
– Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Dossier: Migration, Integration, Asylum,
https://www.bpb.de/themen/migration-integration.
