Germany: SPD wants to abolish restrictions on family reunification

BERLIN. Migration politicians of the SPD have called for the right to family reunification to be extended. To do this, they want to abolish the legal restriction on the number of people who are allowed to enter Germany on a monthly basis for this reason. “Refugees should be able to live with their families like other people,” they justify their plan in a position paper that is available on Die Welt.

So far, the so-called privileged family reunification only applies to refugees under the Geneva Refugee Convention or recognized asylum seekers. The SPD now wants to give more consideration to those who do not have this status, but who would be in danger if they returned home because, for example, there is civil war in their country.

Immigration is currently limited for people in this group. In total, they are allowed to bring 1,000 relatives to Germany every month. "We want to abolish the legal limit of 1,000 per month," says the Social Democrats' paper. It is not in the children's good to separate families for a long time.

SPD wants to recognize climate change as a cause of flight
The party also wants to expand the right to immigration in other areas. Together with the refugee aid organization of the United Nations, she advocates taking in more refugees through fixed quotas in the EU. Germany currently provides 5,500 such places per year, which are linked to the EU resettlement program. The party is calling for the number to be increased to 10,000 people per year in the short term.

They are also in favor of taking in migrants who have fled the effects of climate change. This new phenomenon must be recognized as a cause of flight. Natural disasters and environmental damage have been the reasons for leaving one's homeland for a number of years before armed conflicts.

First deportation flight to Afghanistan starts after nine months
Meanwhile, the refugee initiative Pro Asylum has criticized expulsions to Afghanistan. These were initially suspended during the Covid pandemic. According to the dpa news agency, the first German deportation flight to the country in nine months started on Wednesday.

Pro Asylum called this irresponsible, and criticized the initiative on Twitter.

Neun Monate lang hat Deutschland Abschiebungen nach #Afghanistan endlich sein gelassen - wegen der Corona-Pandemie. Aber kurz vor Weihnachten, ausgerechnet zum Start des bundesweiten Lockdowns, startet auch wieder ein Abschiebeflieger nach #Kabul. Das ist völlig unverantwortlich! pic.twitter.com/hubxVB44vt

— Pro Asyl (@ProAsyl) December 16, 2020

Above: "For nine months, Germany finally stopped deportations to #Afghanistan - because of the Covid pandemic. But shortly before Christmas, of all things, at the start of the nationwide lockdown, a deportation flight to #Kabul starts again. This is completely irresponsible!"

Source: Junge Freiheit