Berlin – The number of people who have asked for political asylum in the state of Brandenburg has increased. As the Potsdam Ministry of the Interior announced on Monday, the number in 2021 was 9819 asylum seekers, compared to 4437 the year before.
These are the foreigners who have been accepted by the Central Foreigners Authority (ZABH). Of the nearly 10,000 asylum seekers, 5,382 stayed in the state of Brandenburg. The others were distributed to other federal states according to the so-called Königstein key.
Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) said: “The development of the number of asylum seekers over the past year is a reflection of how states misuse the issue of migration for their own purposes. The stream of refugees from late summer via the Belarus route, directed by the dictator Lukashenko, makes this clear.”
Most came via Belarus and Poland
The Minister praised the good organization of the Central Immigration Office and its close cooperation with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) and the Federal Police. This made it possible to take good care of the refugees on the Brandenburg border with Poland.
According to the ministry, 6,544 of the 9,819 asylum seekers have entered Germany via Belarus and Poland since August last year alone. In addition, 1,592 people were registered who had already received protection status in Greece and who had again applied for asylum in Germany.
Minister Stübgen said: “The increasing number of refugees and the continued high number of people who are obliged to leave the country make it clear how important it is to have a resolute repatriation practice.” would have made work very difficult.
High number of people obliged to leave the country
The countries of origin of the asylum seekers currently living in the state of Brandenburg are mainly: Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Vietnam, Georgia, Turkey and the Russian Federation. The immigration authorities in Brandenburg reported 177 deportations last year, 17 more than the year before. There were also 40 “Dublin repatriations” and 421 voluntary departures.
As the ministry also announced, 8,904 people in Brandenburg were required to leave the country at the end of the previous year. Among them are 6748 tolerated persons, i.e. people who should actually leave the country, but whose deportation has been suspended.
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