Almost two thirds of Germans refuse to accept further refugees

Berlin - A clear majority of Germans reject further admission of refugees. As a survey by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of Diakonie Deutschland showed, 62.5 percent are of the opinion that Germany should not accept more refugees in view of the increasing number of refugees worldwide. 28 percent answered yes.

What is striking is the clarity of those who answered no. 47.3 percent of the 5,000 respondents said “no, definitely not”, 15.2 percent “rather no”. On the other hand, 14.4 percent said “yes, definitely” and 13.2 percent said “more or less yes”.

According to the majority, integration failed
A large majority also view integration with skepticism. When asked whether the immigrants of the past ten years have integrated well in German society, 57.8 percent said “no, definitely not” or “rather no”. By contrast, 12.5 percent ticked “yes, definitely” or “rather yes”. Almost 28 percent said “partly”, the rest “don't know”. The percentage of yes was above average, especially among students, while the self-employed, pensioners and employees tend to view integration as a failure.

Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie said the results did not surprise him, but sobered him. “Obviously, the majority of Germans do not perceive and describe the admission of refugees and their integration as a success story. Not everyone who is critical of migration is right-wing extremist. But without this sounding board, the awful right-wing simplifiers with their 'we-or-you' logic would have a much harder time making political profit from it."

Criticism of EU external border controls
Lilie called on politics to think about integration, education and social policy together. Migrants must be integrated in their immediate environment. “We also have to make the successful integration stories audible and make Germany, as the country of immigration it actually is, tangible in a positive way. It takes these good stories to make the either-or narrative quieter.” In a press release, Diakonie criticized the controls at the EU's external borders.

The number of asylum applications rose by almost 120 percent in May 2021 compared to the same month last year. Something similar can be observed in the Mediterranean, through which significantly more immigrants came to Europe than in previous years.

A study by the University of Munster came to the conclusion that European societies, including German societies, were divided in terms of identity politics. One aspect is therefore immigration, which is seen as an opportunity by one part and viewed with skepticism by the other.

Source: Junge Freiheit