He wants asylum procedures to be accelerated and unauthorized applicants to be sent home quickly, the visa-free regime for the two balkan countries to be dropped. Lower saxony’s interior minister uwe schunemann (CDU) joined in the demand. The pro-asylum organization complained about the mood-setting.
The number of asylum seekers in germany has risen significantly. According to the federal ministry of the interior, 6691 people applied for asylum at the federal office for migration and refugees in september. Most of them – almost one third – came from serbia and macedonia. "It’s not as bad as in the 80s and 90s," friedrich admitted in the "bild" newspaper. In 1995, the number of asylum seekers was just under 167,000.
Friedrich, however, complained that the increasing abuse of asylum from the balkans is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately. He also wants to reduce the incentives for asylum seekers. "Those who come from safe countries of origin – and I include macedonia and serbia among them – should receive fewer cash benefits in the future," he said. This needs to be added to the asylum seekers benefits law.
Asylum seekers are entitled by law to certain benefits for food, accommodation, clothing or healthcare. They receive this partly in kind and partly in the form of vouchers or cash. The federal government is currently revising the law: the federal constitutional court ruled in july that asylum seekers must receive more money because the current regulations violate the right to a dignified subsistence level.
Friedrich criticized the ruling: "this will lead to an even greater number of asylum seekers, because it will become even more attractive for economic refugees to come to us and leave again with cash." The bundeslander was able to resist this, however, by strictly distributing benefits in kind instead of cash.
FDP interior politician hartfrid wolff objected that it would be cheaper and less bureaucratic for the state to pay asylum seekers money. In the "tagesspiegel am sonntag" he argued that asylum seekers should be given permission to work from day one.
Lower saxony’s minister of the interior, schunemann, also called for intervention in view of the rising numbers of asylum seekers – including more expeditious processing of the procedures. The goal must be to return the asylum seekers to their home country after 30 days, he told dpa on the fringes of the CDU party conference in celle, lower saxony. In some regions, immigration is now really organized, he lamented. "This is clear abuse of asylum. Whole villages come."Bavarian interior minister joachim herrmann (CSU) had also urgently called for countermeasures.
Pro asylum, on the other hand, criticized the debate as hysterical. "The impression is given that there is a huge threat coming towards us. This is absurd," the organization’s executive director, gunter burkhardt, told the german press agency. We are talking about a few hundred people. "This is not a horrendous number."When friedrich speaks of mass asylum abuse, he is creating prejudice. "You play on xenophobic resentments."This probably also has to do with the upcoming federal elections and the state elections in lower saxony and bavaria in the coming year.
Pro asyl suspects that among the asylum seekers from serbia and macedonia are mainly roma, fleeing poor living conditions and the approaching winter in their home country.
Grunen boss claudia roth also criticized friedrich schure questionable moods. He is the populist hardliner – on the backs of minorities who had to live in inhumane conditions in their homeland.