Union criticizes church asylum: “The rule of law alone decides on asylum”

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag has reacted with skepticism to the increase in church asylum applications in Germany. "The churches' humanitarian commitment deserves respect, but asylum is decided solely by the rule of law," said domestic policy spokesman Alexander Throm ( CDU ) to the Berliner Zeitung.

According to a report in the Bild newspaper, 2,386 cases of church asylum were registered last year. The paper cites data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees ( BAMF ), according to which the number has recently increased significantly. In 2023, there were 2,065 cases—around 300 fewer.

Most of these are said to be so-called Dublin cases, which would normally mean that another EU member state would be responsible for the asylum procedure. The individuals would therefore be returned to a safe country. However, church asylum makes this considerably more difficult. Only 39 cases would have required return to a country outside the EU, reports Bild.

CDU politician: “Humanitarian questions do not arise at all”

Normally, church asylum is only granted in cases of hardship. The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) defines it as a temporary "reception of refugees by a church congregation in order to prevent deportation that is perceived as life-threatening and to trigger a renewed official review of the asylum procedure."

It's becoming clear "that some church representatives – not all – repeatedly place themselves above the law," said CDU politician Throm. "This is about transferring people to the responsible state within the EU, so humanitarian questions don't even arise." The CDU politician advocates for a fundamental re-examination of church asylum. Migration researcher Daniel Thym also told the Bild newspaper: "It is morally incomprehensible to me why the churches are preventing deportations to other EU states."

As Bild reported, the three Somalis who recently successfully appealed their rejection before the Berlin Administrative Court could also receive church asylum. According to the report, they were housed in a Berlin rectory by the EKD. The EKD declined to comment. A spokesperson also responded to a query from the Berliner Zeitung newspaper saying they would not comment on the report and "the speculations contained therein." Berlin's Protestant Bishop Christian Stäblein met with the Somalis and subsequently spoke of "very young people who are burdened by what they experienced in their homeland and while fleeing."

The State Office for Refugees emphasized to Bild that the Somalis were "registered at the Berlin Arrival Center for Asylum and, of course, attend all appointments with the authorities." The case attracted attention because Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had previously instructed the Federal Police to also reject asylum seekers at Germany's external borders. The Administrative Court ruled that the Somalis were entitled to a Dublin procedure in Germany.

The three people – two men and a presumably adult woman – had entered Germany by train from Poland. At the train station in the border town of Frankfurt (Oder), they stated that they intended to apply for asylum. However, they were returned to Poland the same day. The Federal Police justified this by stating that they had entered from a safe third country. The Berlin Administrative Court subsequently ruled in an emergency decision that the rejection during the check was unlawful. They should not be turned away without clarification as to which EU state is responsible for the asylum applications of those affected. (with AFP/dpa)