Merz remains hard: border controls despite the court ruling!

Merz remains hard: border controls despite the court ruling!

On June 3, 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announces that the German Federal Government holds on its course increased controls and rejections at the borders despite a legal setback. Merz comments on the local congress of the German Association of Cities and Municipalities in Berlin and refers to the decision of the Berlin Administrative Court, which states that the rejection of three Somaliern to Poland was not right. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, however, emphasizes that these rejections will continue to be practiced because it is an isolated case.

The administrative court found that the so-called Dublin procedure must be carried out before rejection. This was the first judicial decision on a new regulation from Dobrindt, which had ordered an intensification of border controls after taking office. The federal police were authorized to reject asylum seekers at the border, but with exceptions to people in need of protection such as pregnant women and children to ensure the protection of public security, explains Merz and demands that the controls on the internal boundaries are maintained until the protection of European external borders is guaranteed.

illegal rejection

According to the judgment of the Berlin Administrative Court, which occurred on May 9, the three Somalier, who were sent back to Poland from Frankfurt (Oder), were not legally rejected. The court rejected the argumentation of the federal police, which had justified the rejection by entering a safe third country. The asylum seekers were denied the opportunity to go through a complete Dublin process before they were pushed back. In the specific case, the Somali on the train to Germany expressed an asylum application, but were nevertheless rejected directly during a control at the Frankfurt train station (Oder).

This decision has made political waves. The Greens ask Dobrindt to withdraw his arrangement because they regard the judicial decision as a clear defeat for the federal government. The police union also expresses skepticism to Dobrindt's new procedure. The chairman of the Federal Police Union points out that the main proceedings could possibly end differently than the urgent procedure that led to this decision.

A new course in migration policy

The current controversy are in the context of a broader debate about migration policy in Germany. Merz emphasizes that the protection of public security and avoiding the system are ultimately in the foreground. He announced that the Federal Government continues to try to send clearer signals to migrants through increased border controls and simplified rejections from asylum seekers to reduce unauthorized entry.

The tensions between legislation, the courts and the executive are once again the focus of the German society's topic, while the debate about the balance between legal requirements and the need for effective border security measures continues.