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Germany begins border controls amid immigration debate

2024-09-18 19:32:11, Kosova & Bota CNA

Germany begins border controls amid immigration debate

German border with Belgium. Source: AP

Germany began checks at all land border crossings on Monday as the government tries to curb irregular immigration. As Voice of America correspondent Henry Ridgwell reports, many neighboring countries of Germany have criticized the Berlin plan, which they say undermines the European Union's fundamental principle of freedom of movement.

German police and border guards began checking all land crossings of individuals entering the country on Monday. Authorities say they are targeting suspected illegal immigrants.

"We want to keep to a minimum the disturbance for travelers and the transport of goods ," says Dieter Hutt, spokesman for the German Federal Police.

Germany is a member of the Schengen area. Member countries can carry out border controls in case of serious threats to public policy or internal security. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the move was necessary.

"The number of immigrants entering Germany irregularly is very large ," said Chancellor Scholz.

In 2015, after the Arab Spring, Germany accepted more than one million immigrants. Also, this country hosts more than one million Ukrainian refugees.

The influx prompted a backlash among German voters, who backed the far-right Alternative for Germany party to a surprise victory in the last regional election.

Many of Germany's neighbors have reacted angrily to the border controls.

"Undoubtedly, the internal political situation in Germany has influenced the taking of these steps and not our policy towards illegal immigration at our borders ," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Border controls could undermine European unity in the long term, analyst Raphael Bossong tells VOA.

"It could further exacerbate the trend of mutual accusations, the strengthening of the extreme right and the growth of Euroscepticism. We don't know where we will end up with this kind of trend."

Germany is also increasing the return of those whose asylum applications have been rejected. Analyst Bossong says this is a complicated issue.

"We are not talking about the transport of goods, but about people. We are also facing various drivers of irregular migration. Some may try to take advantage of various incentives, others less so, given the various wars and conflict in Europe. These things are not under our control."

Meanwhile, a German government official said recently that Berlin may seek to reach an agreement with Rwanda to send asylum seekers there pending document review. In July, Britain abandoned a similar plan./ VOA