Germany: Calls Grow to Tighten Migration Policy and Rapidly Repatriate Most Syrian Refugees
ARK News.. German political debate over migration intensified on Friday as the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary bloc called for a tougher migration policy and the swift return of most Syrian refugees to their home country.
According to the German Press Agency (DPA), a policy paper prepared by the CSU parliamentary group during a meeting at Seeon Abbey in Bavaria argues that “most Syrians who currently enjoy temporary protection status will lose the grounds for protection once the civil war has ended.”
The document urges authorities to “initiate deportation procedures as quickly as possible for those refugees who do not leave voluntarily.” It further states that 2026 should witness a large-scale deportation campaign “using regular flights to Syria and Afghanistan.”
To facilitate this, the CSU is calling for the establishment of nationwide departure centers, as well as a dedicated deportation terminal at Munich Airport.
The party is also advocating a harder line stance toward Ukrainian refugees. The document states: “We will also push to ensure that Ukrainian men fit for military service fulfill their duty to defend their country,” though it does not provide details on how such a policy would be implemented.
In addition, the CSU plans to tighten measures against individuals it labels “foreign enemies of democracy.” The paper calls for the criminalization of public calls to establish an Islamic state or caliphate.
It further stipulates that “demands to abolish the free democratic order or the commission of anti-Semitic crimes must result in mandatory deportation, the denial of residence permits, and, in cases of dual nationality, the revocation of German citizenship.”
The bloc also stressed the need to curb what it described as abuse of Germany’s social welfare system. It criticized current EU freedom-of-movement rules, which grant EU citizens the right to reside in Germany after working as little as 5.5 hours per week. “We want to restrict the definition of the term ‘worker’ under the EU Freedom of Movement Directive,” the document said.
Alexander Hoffmann, head of the CSU parliamentary group, told Merkur newspaper: “Labor migration to Germany must not turn into poverty migration.”
According to figures cited by Deutsche Welle (DW), around 948,000 Syrian nationals currently live in Germany. Of these, approximately 667,000 hold temporary protection status, based on the latest data from 2025.
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