Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is facing mounting criticism from opposition lawmakers after announcing plans to extend internal border controls and increase deportations, including to conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Syria.
Speaking on the “Table.Today” podcast, Dobrindt confirmed that federal border checks would continue beyond September and stated, “We are working on organizing further deportation flights to Afghanistan and Syria.” The measures follow heightened border enforcement rolled out earlier this year under Chancellor Merz’s administration, which have drawn criticism from Germany’s neighbors and domestic policing unions alike.
In July, Germany deported 81 Afghan nationals with criminal records — a move praised by conservatives but widely condemned by human rights groups and progressive parties.
„Hardliner optics at the expense of rights“
Clara Bünger, domestic policy spokesperson for The Left (Die Linke), told Der Tagesspiegel that Dobrindt is staging “hardliner optics” while engaging in „symbolic politics on the backs of marginalized people.“ She claimed people have been deported directly from psychiatric facilities and sent to war-torn regions, “costing millions but providing no added security.”
Bünger also rejected the government’s framing of deportations as a public safety measure. “No one’s pension gets higher, no street gets safer because of deportations. What Dobrindt is doing strips away protections from people seeking refuge and fuels racist resentment,” she said, warning that such policies risk dividing the working class and the poor.
Legal concerns and EU friction
Marcel Emmerich, the Green Party’s domestic affairs spokesperson, echoed the criticism, accusing Dobrindt of continuing “illegal symbolic politics at the border — without cause, without legal basis.” Emmerich argued that Dobrindt is ignoring legal rulings, rule-of-law principles, and pushback from police unions, business groups, NGOs, and cross-border commuters.
“Instead of waving the EU flag, he’s hammering border barriers deeper into the ground,” Emmerich said.
Both opposition leaders questioned the logic and legality of maintaining border controls, especially in light of declining asylum numbers. Emmerich warned that deploying federal police to the borders rather than addressing domestic security challenges could actually endanger public safety. “The Interior Ministry risks internal security by unnecessarily diverting resources to the borders,” he said.tagesspiegel.de
