Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right CDU, is facing strong criticism for proposing to revoke German citizenship from dual nationals convicted of crimes, calling the reformed naturalization laws "problematic".

In an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag he criticized the expedited naturalization process introduced by the coalition government in 2024. If elected in the upcoming general election, Merz plans to reintroduce stricter naturalization criteria.

He noted that of more than 200,000 applicants in 2024, around 80 percent wished to retain their original nationality. Merz argued that dual citizenship in Germany should remain an exception to the rule. "We are bringing additional problems into the country with this. At the very least, there should be a possibility to revoke German citizenship when it becomes clear that we made a mistake with individuals who commit crimes," the opposition leader said.

The leader of the governing center-left Social Democrats (SPD) Saskia Esken told Stern magazine that Merz is making naturalized people into "second-class citizens." Left-wing politicians, including the Greens and the Left party also criticized the CDU chancellor candidate on Monday. Meanwhile, the debate over deportations and returning Syrian refugees following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad continues to be highly controversial.

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Merz under fire

Last summer, the coalition government’s amendments to citizenship laws came into effect. Naturalization is now possible after five years, or even three years for cases of exceptional integration. Previously, the threshold was eight years. The reforms also significantly expanded the possibilities for dual citizenship.

Political commentator and author Gilda Sahebi called for Merz to resign over his proposal. Writing on social media she stated that what the opposition is calling for effectively is: "People who do not have 'German blood' (to put it bluntly) are to remain Germans on probation forever. They can never truly be German. One mistake, one crime – and...their Germanness is gone. It doesn’t matter if they were born here or if their family has lived in Germany for generations."

Sahebi added that the center-right opposition parties (CDU/CSU) "can no longer be considered democratic with such proposals accusing them of having followed the AfD on too many issues and effectively calling for "remigration". "And yet there is no protest, nothing...this country remains silent," she writes.

In the governing coalition, politicians also criticized Merz for courting the far-right. Esken accused Merz of "knowingly playing with right-wing populist fire" and stated that he "is not fit to be chancellor for all Germans".

While Interior Minister Nancy Faeser defended the citizenship law reform, noting that the current coalition government has actually made "the requirements for obtaining German citizenship much stricter." Speaking to German newspaper Rheinische Post, she warned the opposition against entering into a "populist bidding war" in relation to its policies.

The co-chair of the Greens in the Bundestag -- the German parliament, Katharina Dröge, called Merz's statements "discriminatory" and harmful to the "welcome culture" needed to attract skilled workers. These statements were echoed by the Left’s migration policy parliamentary spokesperson, Gökay Akbulut, who called the opposition leader's remarks "highly dangerous," saying they echo proposals from the ranks of the far-right AfD and other right-wing extremists.

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Increase in deportations

Merz is hoping to become the next chancellor after Germany's upcoming election next month on February 23. A long time critic of Angela Merkel's "open-door" migration policy, he has also called for stricter rules in migration policy, stating, "we are increasingly seeing that we simply cannot cope with the large number of people coming to Germany, many of whom are not actually in need of protection." Calling for easier rejections at borders and deportations in cases of criminality among migrants.

While the migration debate has taken center stage in the upcoming general election campaign, issues such as the labor shortage are largely set aside from the wider discussion on migration. Instead there has been an increasing focus on deportations.

Between January and November 2024, nearly 18,400 people were deported from Germany. This marks a 20 percent increase over the same period the previous year when a total of 16,430 were deported, the German tabloid Bild newspaper reported. These figures are still lower than the numbers before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, which saw around 22,000 deportations that year.

The government is citing the increased number of deportations as a validation of its policy direction. Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Stern magazine that the increase shows "real progress." Last year's deportation figures stand in contrast to around 213,000 asylum applications, which represent a decrease of over one-third compared to 2023 (351,000).

President of aid organization Caritas, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, criticized the "intensification of populist rhetoric on repatriation during the election campaign." Such rhetoric, she told Tagesspiegel, fosters "false prejudices" and undermines the foundations of a welcome culture essential for attracting foreign skilled workers, particularly in health and social professions.

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Review of international protection for Syrians

Over the weekend, Faeser announced that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) would review the protection status of Syrians. It should be revoked "if people no longer need this protection in Germany." This would apply to those without residence permits for other reasons such as work or education.

Thorsten Frei, parliamentary secretary for the CDU in the Bundestag, accused Faeser of "hiding her inaction behind determined rhetoric." The issue is not just administrative enforcement but also necessary legislative changes, Frei told Tagesspiegel. Only with such changes could the BAMF be enabled to review hundreds of thousands of asylum decisions. Additionally, laws are needed to expedite the deportation of criminals and extremists, he said.

However, Green parliamentary secretary Filiz Polat warned against hasty decisions. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s trip to Syria had made it clear "where the new leaders stand ideologically," Polat told Tagesspiegel. "There is currently no reason to review the revocation of protection for Syrian refugees based on the current assessment of the situation."

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office highlighted that migration was not a central topic during Baerbock’s visit to Syria. Aside from the difficult supply situation in the country, the security situation remains "highly precarious."

As of the end of October, 974,136 people with Syrian citizenship were residing in Germany, according to the Interior Ministry. The majority of Syrian refugees plan to stay in Germany permanently, having found work, and built lives and social networks, while labor unions and analysts stress that Germany would lose valuable workers if large-scale repatriations occur.

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With AFP and KNA