Thousands of rejected Germany asylum seekers said to be in hiding

Tens of thousands of planned deportations of rejected asylum seekers from Germany are being cancelled due to mass disappearances and the sudden presentation of medical certificates, according to the country’s top police officer.

“Last year alone, we had about 53,800 deportations registered with us by the states. Around 33,600 of these measures were cancelled before the person was even handed over to us,” Dieter Romann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, which was made available to media in advance on Saturday.

Behind the cancellations, according to Romann, is the fact that many of those required to leave the country went into hiding on the day of departure or presented medical certificates at short notice that prevented their deportation.

“Unfortunately, that is the reality: behind every number lies a huge amount of effort. And as long as so many measures have to be cancelled in advance, the gap between those required to leave the country and those who actually do so will remain large.”

Romann is particularly critical of the lack of detention centres for deportees in Germany.

“When there are 226,000 people required to leave the country but fewer than 800 detention centres, the state police and the federal police will continue to be unable to detain individuals when they are found, even if the legal requirements for doing so are met,” he said.

This means that those affected are bound to go into hiding, the official added.

In its coalition agreement, the government that took office in May committed itself to increasing the number of deportations of rejected asylum seekers.