BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Syrians currently living in Germany will no longer be considered eligible for asylum, arguing the Syrian civil war has ended. He also signaled that his government will begin encouraging returns — and potentially deportations — as the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) surges in the polls ahead of his center-right coalition.
On a visit to Husum in northern Germany, Merz stated: “There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany [for Syrians], and therefore we can also begin with repatriations.” He added that those who refuse to return voluntarily could face deportation “in the near future.”
Germany, under Angela Merkel, adopted an open-door refugee policy in 2015 and took in an estimated one million Syrians fleeing the civil war.
Merz’s increasingly urgent remarks come as his conservative bloc moves toward a more restrictive immigration stance — a shift that reflects the broader hardening of the German right on migration and comes at a time when younger, disillusioned voters are embracing AfD, a party that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has formally designated as extremist.
In WPR in January, Aaron Allen looked at the history of Merkel’s consequential decision, and how the politics of Germany’s so-called Willkommenskultur—a culture of welcoming and inclusion—have evolved in the last decade. “Caught between the evolving situation in Syria and the heated political debate on immigration in Germany are the Syrian refugees themselves,” Allen wrote. “Their perspectives are far from uniform: Some have fully integrated into German society and wish to remain, while others are considering a return to a post-Assad Syria, despite its uncertainties.”
The United Nations and multiple humanitarian organizations warn that large parts of Syria remain devastated by war, with widespread humanitarian needs and destroyed infrastructure — raising serious questions about whether safe and dignified returns are possible at scale.
Domestically, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul struck a more cautious tone following a visit to Damascus, saying returns are only feasible to a “very limited extent” given current conditions in the country.
As part of the initiative, Merz has invited Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Germany to discuss potential cooperation on returning Syrians — including the deportation of those with criminal records.
As Politico reports:
Merz’s comments reflect his latest push to move his conservatives sharply to the right on the AfD’s signature issue of migration. Until now, the broad strategy doesn’t appear to have worked, with the AfD only rising in popularity and coming in slightly ahead of Merz’s conservatives in many recent polls.
Merz is seeking to undo the legacy of one of his conservative predecessors as chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose generous asylum policies — particularly during the refugee crisis of 2015 — made Germany the prime European destination for Syrians and other migrant groups fleeing war and poverty. During Merkel’s tenure and beyond, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fled to Germany. Aside from Ukrainians, Syrians constitute the largest group of refugees now living in the country.
Merz blames Merkel’s migration policies for enabling the rise of the AfD, now the largest opposition party in the German parliament. Over the summer, Merz said his conservatives were “trying to correct” Merkel’s past policies. His pledge to repatriate Syrians is one of his most direct efforts yet to do so.
It also echoes similar recent efforts of his government to establish contact with Taliban officials to arrange deportations of Afghans living in Germany, beginning with those convicted of crimes. Human rights groups have sharply criticized those plans, saying returnees may be subject to harsh punishment and persecution in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Despite the complicated reality, Merz clearly wants Syrians to return home — a move he hopes will help blunt the rise of AfD, now the second-largest party in parliament.
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I applaud Germany for doing this. The sooner the better
Well, it took some heartaches on their part, but they actually ARE smarter than what they have looked like for the last 10 years or so!