KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Germany’s likely next government, led by conservative leader Friedrich Merz, is set to enforce strict immigration policies, including halting refugee admissions from Afghanistan and accelerating deportations.
Merz, whose CDU/CSU bloc won the recent elections, announced that Germany will reject undocumented migrants at its borders and suspend voluntary resettlement programs, including those for Afghans.
“We will end voluntary admission programs, for example from Afghanistan, and will not launch any new ones,” he said during a press conference on Saturday, as reported by DW.
The announcement comes amid rising anti-immigration sentiment in Germany, fueled by a series of violent attacks allegedly involving asylum seekers, including Afghan nationals.
In January, an Afghan man was arrested after a fatal knife attack on a kindergarten group. Last month, another Afghan suspect was accused of driving a car into a rally in Munich, killing a mother and her two-year-old daughter. These incidents intensified public calls for tighter immigration controls, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gaining record support.
Merz, a long-time rival of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, has vowed to roll back her legacy of welcoming refugees. His government also plans to suspend family reunifications for Afghans under subsidiary protection status—those denied asylum but deemed unable to return safely.
For many Afghans who had hoped to find safety in Germany, this policy shift signals a grim reality. Thousands of Afghans, particularly those who worked with Western governments, have been waiting for relocation under humanitarian programs, many of them in Pakistan.
The German government had previously committed to resettling vulnerable Afghans, including women’s rights activists and former employees of international organizations. However, with Merz’s expected policy changes, these pathways may soon close.
Germany has already resumed deportations of Afghan migrants with criminal records, despite concerns about their safety under Taliban rule. Merz has pledged to continue and even accelerate these deportations. “Criminal migrants will be expelled immediately,” he said..
The shift in Germany’s immigration stance adds another layer of uncertainty for Afghans seeking asylum abroad, particularly at a time when legal pathways for relocation have become increasingly scarce. With European borders tightening and Taliban rule making life untenable for many, Afghan refugees now face even greater obstacles in their search for safety.
