Frankfurt Airport has recorded a significant rise in migrant deportations in 2024, according to a report by Christian organizations. The report noted that some migrants were collected in the middle of the night, a practice particularly distressing for children. Others allegedly faced inadequate food or clothing and were given insufficient time to prepare for departure.
Frankfurt Airport recorded a notable increase in deportations in 2024, according to the latest report from the Frankfurt Deportation Monitoring Center. The center, operated by the Christian groups Diakonie Frankfurt and Offenbach and Caritas, noted that a total of 20,084 people were deported nationwide in 2024, an increase of approximately 22 percent compared to 2023.
Over 6,300 of these deportations, more than 30 percent of the total, took place at Frankfurt Airport. Among those deported nationwide were 4,504 women and 3,687 minors. The report also noted that "coercive measures" were used in 1,189 cases, a rise of 21.5 percent from the previous year, particularly affecting flights to West African countries and the Western Balkans.
Report highlights undignified migrant treatment
The report sharply criticized the actions of escort authorities, including state police and immigration offices, who transport migrants to the airport. Observers cited numerous problems, including nighttime pickups, inadequate clothing or food, and insufficient preparation for the deportees. Families were sometimes taken from their homes in the middle of the night, a practice particularly traumatic for children, the report noted.
Medical assessments conducted before deportations also raised concerns. Doctors commissioned by authorities sometimes issued travel fitness certificates at short notice, even when treating physicians had explicitly advised against travel for health reasons. The report warned that this practice could endanger particularly vulnerable groups, as no documented arrangements for further medical care in the destination country were made.
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Praise for federal police
The report, however, praised the federal police, who are responsible for carrying out deportations on the airport grounds. The report described federal police as "acting respectively in most cases." Officers frequently explained procedures, introduced themselves by name, allowed phone calls, and provided short breaks, the report claimed.
Deportation monitoring at Frankfurt Airport was established in 2006 to provide transparency for a process that usually occurs behind closed doors. The monitoring is financed by Christian churches, with state support from Hesse since 2018. Church representatives, including Caritas Director Karl Weber, emphasized the need for nationwide binding standards, particularly for children, the sick, and disabled individuals. They called for prohibitions on deportations from hospitals or during ongoing medical treatments.
Though "progress" has been made in the professional conduct of federal police, "persistent challenges" in the broader deportation process remain, such as ensuring "humane procedures" and medical safeguards, according to the report.
With EPD and dpa
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