With federal elections less than six weeks away, Germany's federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has chimed in on migration policy, calling for greater respect towards well-integrated immigrants.

Migrants have "long been a natural part of our society and keep our country running in many areas: in hospitals and care facilities, in businesses and industry", Faeser said on Wednesday (January 15) while presenting the annual migration report to the federal cabinet, which comprises Chancellor Olaf Scholz and 16 federal ministers.

"Workers and skilled workers will only come if they can fully belong, instead of having to fear exclusion," Faeser explained, adding that immigrants' achievements "deserve more respect."

Almost 25 million people in Germany had a migrant background in 2023, according to the latest microcensus. To put that number into perspective, migrants make up almost 30 percent of Germany's total population. Almost half of them are German nationals, while almost two thirds immigrated to Germany themselves.

In Germany, 'migration background' applies to people who themselves or at least one of their parents were not born with German citizenship.

Read AlsoWithout immigration, Germany’s labor market would collapse within decades: study

Heated election campaign debate

Migration policy has been the subject of intense debate of late in the campaign for the early federal elections on February 23.

In the interview with the regional newspaper Rheinische Post, Faeser also criticized recent calls by conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz to revoke citizenship for dual nationals convicted of crimes a "discussion on the backs of people who have worked hard for their lives in Germany."

The discussion "again leads to the feeling that there are first and second-class citizens," the social democrat told the Rheinische Post media outlet.

Faeser is not the first politician to accuse Merz of discriminatory rhetoric. Left-wing politicians, including the Greens and the Left party also criticized Merz last week; others accused Merz, the leader of the center-right CDU, of aligning with far-right policies, in order to win over voters.

The idea of 'remigration' returns in campaign rhetoric

Alice Weidel, chancellor candidate of the far-right AfD party, meanwhile announced rapid border closures and deportations in the event of an AfD government. In doing so, she explicitly adopted the controversial term 'remigration' that hit the headlines back in 2023 when a meeting of far-right politicians from across Europe discussed being able to send those with migrant backgrounds back to the country where their families were from, even in some cases, those who had acquired German citizenship.

At the AfD party congress this weekend, Weidel didn't back away from using the word, carefully repeating it several times, but clarified in her longer speech that she was talking more about sending back migrants who had no legal right to be in Germany, which would exclude anyone with citizenship or residency rights. When it surfaced in 2023, Weidel initially distanced herself from the idea.

Faeser though responded to Weidel's comments. "The fact that the AfD apparently wants to expel people en masse under the term 'remigration'" showed how much it would damage Germany as a business location and cost jobs, Faeser told Rheinische Post.

Earlier this week, the AfD came under fire for sending election campaign flyers labeled "deportation ticket" to people in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.

The AfD is currently polling at about 20 percent -- far from enough to govern. What's more, all other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with them.

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.

Read AlsoGermany: Significant changes for refugees and asylum seekers in 2024

Near-record net migration

In 2023, almost 663,000 more people migrated to Germany than moved away -- the second-highest net migration since 2016.

That's according to the aforementioned migration report of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) that Faeser presented on Wednesday.

Most of the newcomers came from European countries and Turkey (63.4 percent), around half of them from the European Union. Although the number of new arrivals from Ukraine has fallen significantly, this group still made up the largest share in 2023 with around 14 percent.

Compared to 2022, the number of people coming from Romania has also fallen (almost 10 percent), while the number of immigrants from Turkey has risen significantly (6.5 percent). Arrivals from Poland accounted for 5.5 percent. Outside Europe, Syria topped the list with 5.3 percent. Close to 20 percent of migrants came from Asian countries.

with AFP