In several incendiary letters, German municipalities are raising the alarm about the country’s ongoing migrant crisis and their inability to take in more newcomers, but the pro-immigration federal government has issued no response.
A first warning letter from the Main-Taunus district in the German state of Hessen was sent last month; it highlighted the overload of cities and municipalities regarding housing and care for migrants. In the letter, District Administrator Michael Cyriax (CDU) and 12 mayors called on the federal government to limit the influx of migrants and begin covering the huge costs being incurred by local authorities.
A parliamentary question from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group has revealed that the letter, along with other letters written since then, have received no response from the federal government, reports daily Die Welt.
The letters are not merely being sent from conservative or right-wing parties; many politicians from left-wing political parties are also signing on, including members of the Green, SPD and FDP parties, all of which belong to the coalition government ruling the country. The reality is that a few months ago, 12 out of 16 German federal states said they could no longer accept any migrants due to their local education, housing, and social care services all being overloaded.
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Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, known for her fanatical pro-immigration stance, is a member of the Social Democrats. However, that has not stopped SPD politician Alexander Immisch, who is from the same home municipality as Faeser, Schwalbach, from also signing the letter.
As Remix News reported last month, the influx of migrants has helped fuel a serious housing crisis in the country, as local governments turn tents, gyms, and hotels into housing at a time when a majority of the German public is saying too many migrants are arriving.
Although the federal government remains silent on the ongoing immigration crisis, the government noted it had received the letter, writing, “The federal government has taken note of the letter.”
“We are disappointed that a bipartisan concern is not being heard and understood by the federal government,” District Administrator Michael Cyriax (CDU) said. “I ask the federal government to take note of the problems and not pretend that municipalities that complain don’t have a handle on the situation.”
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In the letter, the mayors point out that there is hardly any space left for the migrants coming in and that every week, 36 more migrants are assigned to their district for accommodation. The district is renting out hotels in response, but that is turning out to be unsustainable.
“We are avoiding homelessness, but we are far from the goal of successful integration,” says Cyriax. “It’s not just about housing, the problems are more ramified: there are not enough staff in the schools and the authorities.”
The mayors and politicians behind the letter are calling for more deportations, but Germany is notoriously lax when it comes to the issue. At the EU level, only 21 percent of people slated for deportation are actually deported back to their country of origin. In Germany, even those who have committed serious crimes as refugees are not forced to leave, and in many cases, they commit further crimes.
“I know that deportations are a sensitive issue. But the traffic light (government) has agreed to the coalition agreement to support the states more strongly in deportations. Deportations would ease the situation in shared accommodations,” says Cyriax. “We want to help the people who need our help, but we can’t help everyone who somehow makes it to Germany.”
As Remix News previously reported, a number of prominent Green Party politicians sent a similar letter earlier this month. However, their letter has also not received a response from the government.
Faeser, who is greatly responsible for protecting the country’s borders, is being lambasted for failing to address the crisis.
“You expect a federal interior minister to respond to the cries for help from those responsible on the ground and not ignore them,” said CSU member of parliament Müller.
