Around 55 percent of Afghans listed for deportation from Germany have no criminal record, a parliamentary inquiry has shown. As of July, deportations are no longer restricted to criminals or those posing a significant threat.
Some 55 percent of Afghans listed for deportation from Germany are not convicted of any crimes.
That's according to a government response to a parliamentary query by The Left faction's Clara Bünger in the Bundestag, Germany's Parliament.
Between July 8 and September 18, according to the government response, German states requested police assistance to deport 488 Afghan nationals. Of these, 267 have no criminal convictions. All federal states except the city-state of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania submitted requests.
An additional seven Afghans are currently in deportation custody and one was detained to secure return, the Interior Ministry reported.
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Deportation scope expands
Since taking office in May 2025, Germany's ruling government coalition has returned at least 250 Afghan nationals, dpa reported. Earlier this month, InfoMigrants reported that Germany deported 263 Afghans during the same period.
Almost all of them were criminals, according to German officials. However in July, an Afghan man without a criminal record was among the 31 Afghan men sent back to Afghanistan after his asylum claim had been rejected.
In late July, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed deportations are no longer restricted to criminals or so-called endangerers (Gefährder), extending to others obligated to leave.
The German NGO Pro Asyl estimates around 13,000 Afghans in Germany have been issued with notices informing them of their requirement to leave, though roughly 10,000 hold temporary legal suspensions to this requirement, known as a Duldung in Germany.
The latest two deportation flights left Germany for Kabul earlier this month.
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Criticism over Taliban cooperation
In late June, talks between the EU and the Taliban took place in Brussels to help manage irregular migration and discuss deportations. While the EU said the meeting should be classed as "technical contact" with Afghanistan's de facto authorities and not seen as a formal acknowledgement of them, critics warned it could help normalize a regime accused of rights abuses.
More generally, rights groups and opposition politicians, among other groups, have long criticized efforts to deport Afghans to their home country, arguing the deportation process implicitly cooperates with the unrecognized Taliban regime.
Clara Bünger, the aforementioned Left party politician who submitted the parliamentary inquiry, accused the government of ignoring human rights after years of military opposition to the Taliban.
"Germany is deporting people who have done nothing wrong to a country where an Islamist terrorist regime, arbitrary violence, and extreme hardship prevail," she said.
Bünger and others argue that the German government is being inconsistent: While it refuses to formally recognize the Taliban due to their human rights abuses -- especially against women -- it is still making concessions to ensure deportations proceed, such as allowing Taliban-appointed diplomats to work in Germany.
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Direct channels despite non-recognition
Although Germany -- like most other countries -- does not recognize the legitimacy of the Islamist administration of the country, it has managed to sign a number of agreements with them, to facilitate returns of criminal Afghans.
In June, the German government ministry announced that it was going to speed up and expand the deportation of Afghan criminals with up to three charter flights per month.
The direct channels of agreement with the Taliban allow the federal government to carry out regular deportations to Afghanistan without the involvement of intermediary states.
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The Taliban reclaimed power in Afghanistan in 2021, when the Islamic fundamentalist group overthrew a US- and NATO-backed government. As they took power, they enforced a strict interpretation of Islam with draconian laws.
In Germany, public opinion has soured towards Afghan migrants, following several high-profile attacks by Afghan nationals, such as a car-ramming in Munich last year that left 36 people injured, and several knife attacks.
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with dpa