In response to the knife attack in Solingen, the federal government has agreed on a package of measures for migration and asylum policy. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and Anja Hajduk, State Secretary of Economy Minister Robert Habeck, presented the details of the package. During the presentation, Faeser spoke of “far-reaching” and “tough measures.” These primarily aim at tightening residence regulations. It is planned that refugees who have entered through another EU country and were registered there (so-called Dublin cases) will only receive minimal benefits, such as food without cash or payment cards. “We will expand the already existing possibilities for benefit cuts for Dublin cases accordingly,” the paper states.
Buschmann said it was shocking that the deportation of the Solingen attacker, a Dublin case, failed solely because he was not found during the first attempt. Such situations must be prevented. Therefore, adult and juvenile attackers with knives will be deported more quickly in the future. “We also intend to deport criminals and dangerous individuals to Syria and Afghanistan.” Those who seek and receive protection in Germany and then go on vacation to their home country will lose their asylum status in the future. This rule applies to all recognized beneficiaries of protection, except Ukrainians, who are exempt from this measure. Furthermore, the handling of knives in public spaces will be further restricted. A knife ban will apply at festivals, sporting events, and similar public gatherings in the future. A “general knife ban” will also apply on long-distance trains and other providers, Faeser said. In local transport, federal states could also completely ban knives.
“However, bans also require enforcement.” Thus, the powers of the federal police will be expanded, allowing random, suspicion-independent checks. The requirements for a weapons permit will also be raised to ensure extremists have no access to weapons and explosives. Investigative authorities will receive more tools, including biometric matching of publicly accessible internet data for facial recognition, to make it easier to identify suspects or wanted persons. The powers of the domestic intelligence service for financial investigations will be expanded. Police officers will also be equipped with so-called tasers for their own protection.
“A person determined to kill others in large numbers, even willing to be shot by the police, will not be deterred by a ban,” said Buschmann. Nevertheless, he added, it is important to ask what powers should be given to security authorities to detect such behavior early. Two weeks ago, the federal government had already begun assembling a package of measures in response to the Solingen attack.
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