Germany will continue maintaining border controls along its land borders despite a decline in illegal crossings, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, according to German media.
“The current situation is such that we want to maintain controls because we are still recording attempts at irregular border crossings,” Dobrindt said in an interview with ARD.
He emphasized that the ultimate goal is to establish a functional migration system at the European Union level, which would make such controls unnecessary. “Until that happens, we will keep this measure in the medium term,” he added, without specifying when the controls might be lifted.
At the same time, Dobrindt defended the deportation of criminals to Afghanistan, saying he does not understand the criticism of such actions.
Since the introduction of controls at borders with Poland, Czech Republic, France, Denmark, and Switzerland—as well as earlier with Austria since 2015—the number of asylum applications in Germany has dropped significantly.
These measures have sparked criticism from neighboring countries, particularly Poland, which has introduced reciprocal controls. The government of Friedrich Merz, in power for a year, has made reducing illegal migration one of its key priorities.
