The numbers in a new YouGov poll should serve as the final nail in the coffin of Germany’s so-called “Welcome Culture,” promoted during the 2015 migration crisis, which was promoted by Angela Merkel, her CDU, and the left. A decade later, Germans feature the prevailing view that the negative consequences of both legal and illegal migration vastly outweigh the positive. The new from YouGov shows a majority of Germans want an immigration moratorium and mass deportations.
Illegal migration
The results, which were obtained exclusively by Welt, show that Germans are — despite all the claims of “we have space” that were promoted by the left — immensely fed up with illegal immigration. The poll shows that 81 percent of Germans state that illegal immigration was “far too high” or “rather too high” over the last 10 years. Only 5 percent view the levels as appropriate.
Another 75 percent say illegal migration has been bad for Germany.
Majority also rejects legal migration
However, despite a relentless media campaign, a clear majority of Germans also appear to reject legal migration.
A majority of Germans, 57 percent, believe that too many people have entered the country legally, with only a quarter of respondents considering the numbers appropriate.
Mass deportations and immigration moratorium
In addition, 53 percent of Germans favor a total moratorium on all new immigration, as well as the return of a large number of migrants to their homelands, otherwise known by many on the right as “remigration” or mass deportation.
Clearly, Germany’s “welcome culture” appears to be on its final death throes, as Germans become sick of soaring crime, a growing housing crisis, tens of billions spent a year on foreigners, terror threats, dangerous swimming pool conditions, and a crumbling education — all in large part due to mass immigration.
As Welt notes, exact migration figures are difficult to determine, but the Federal Statistical Office reports 6.5 million immigrants have arrived in Germany since 2015 without differentiating legal status, and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees records 2.8 million initial asylum applications.
A majority of Germans are not happy with this development.
In fact, among the countries surveyed in the European Political Monthly (including France, Italy, Spain, and Poland), Germany displays the most pronounced opposition to migration. It is fair to note, however, that other countries, like France, have in many other polls shown far greater opposition to migrants than Germans.
Illegal immigration perception
Remarkably, 75 percent believe illegal migration has been “largely bad” for the country.
While 38 percent believe legal immigration has been bad for Germany, 31 percent say it has been mixed, while only 24 percent say it has been positive.
Integration
A whopping 80 percent of Germans believe illegal migrants have not been successfully integrated—the highest rate of dissatisfaction among the nations surveyed. Even regarding legal immigrants, a majority of 54 percent believe integration has failed.
Values
Seventy-nine percent of Germans say that illegal immigrants do not share the German population’s values. However, a majority also say this about legal migrants, with 53 percent of Germans holding this opinion.
‘We are seeing a great deal of weariness surrounding the issue of immigration’
Frieder Schmid, a pollster for YouGov, contextualizes these findings: “We are seeing a great deal of weariness surrounding the issue of immigration,” he explains. “There is currently little acceptance, especially for irregular migration.”
Schmid notes that tangible strain on infrastructure plays a role. “As a result, some people view immigration as a whole as problematic,” said Schmid, pointing to issues in schools and housing shortages in major cities.
The result? Despite media reports that claim the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a racist party that should be banned, there are nearly no Germans left who actually support a liberal migration policy.
In fact, only 10 percent of Germans support a “liberal immigration policy.” On the contrary, as noted above, 53 percent of Germans want a complete moratorium on immigration and mass deportations.
Support for a liberal immigration policy has collapsed to just 10 percent. Instead, a narrow majority (53 percent) now favors a scenario involving a halt to new arrivals and the return of a large number of migrants.
The poll shows overwhelming support for deporting migrants in certain scenarios, with 88 percent supporting efforts to deport individuals who immigrated primarily to receive social benefits.
Another 85 percent support asylum seekers who entered the country illegally, which is nearly all asylum seekers.
However, support for deportation drops sharply in certain areas. Seventy-four percent reject deporting doctors, 73 percent are against deporting skilled workers, tradespeople (71 percent), and foreign students (66 percent).
However, the YouGov pollster also states that when immigration questions are framed a certain way, respondents change their answers. Namely, when respondents are asked if they would accept less immigration and a weaker economy, only 27 percent accept this.
The poll shows that 46 percent would opt for improving the economic situation through immigration, compared to 27 percent who would accept a weaker economy to reduce immigration.
The problem with the question becomes apparent, implying that restricting immigration would necessarily make the economy worse. Although an imperfect comparison, it is worth noting that China has one of the most immigration restrictionst economies in the world. Now, it has Europe begging for help, as China pulls ahead in manufacturing, energy production, and innovation in a wide range of fields.
Instead of embracing mass immigration, China is rapidly replacing its workforce with robotics at an incredible pace.
Meanwhile, the pro-immigration EU is floundering. Macron was just in China calling for technology transfers, support and investment. pic.twitter.com/gmT26Udcx4
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 9, 2025China, like other Asian countries such as Japan, has opted for automation, robotics, and “black-out” factories that require no humans to manage its population decline. Remix News covered this reality in a piece published in October.
