Regardless of European legal requirements, a majority of Germans are in favor of stricter measures at the German borders. This is shown by the results of a representative survey conducted by the YouGov opinion research institute on behalf of the German Press Agency. It also shows that older people are more likely to support stricter rules for dealing with irregular migration than younger people.
Of the 2,126 participants in the survey, which ran from September 6 to 10, 71 percent were in favor of direct rejections at the border. This already exists, for example, for foreigners who are required to have a visa and do not apply for asylum when crossing the border, as well as for people with an entry ban.
21 percent spoke out against direct rejections at the German borders. The Union demands that the federal police should also reject people who want to apply for asylum in Germany after having previously stayed in another EU country.
When asked whether they support border controls and, if necessary, border closures as a measure to limit migration, 45 percent of respondents chose the answer option “I fully support this.” A further 28 percent of survey participants viewed this as rather positive. One in five rejects border controls and border closures in this context.
Almost every older person is in favor of more deportations
82 percent of the participants in the survey are in favor of deporting more people who do not have the right to stay in Germany. According to the survey, 11 percent of Germans are against more deportations, and 7 percent of those surveyed did not express an opinion on the matter.
In the group of people aged 60 and over, more than 95 percent were in favor of more deportations of people without a right to remain. Among people aged 18 to 39, the proportion of those who held this view was 68 percent. There was no East-West difference in the answers to this question.
Rejections are only possible directly at the border, i.e. only where there are stationary controls. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, more than 30,000 people have been turned away since last October. In mid-October 2023, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) ordered such permanent controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. They have been in place at the German-Austrian land border since September 2015. From this Monday, controls will also be carried out at the land borders with France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240913-930-231147/1
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