The coalition has been in power for a year. Interior Minister Dobrindt claims to have implemented “a turnaround in migration policy.” He insists on border controls – but what are the successes?
A stricter migration policy was one of the main promises of the CDU and CSU ahead of last year's federal elections. The parties have been in power for about a year, along with the SPD, a party that has largely left the migration issue to its coalition partner.
Germany's Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is tasked with implementing what he calls a "migration benchmark." On his first day in office, the CSU politician announced tighter controls at all German borders — a measure that his predecessor Nancy Faeser (SPD) had introduced in the summer of 2024. When asked by reporters, the Interior Ministry would not disclose how much this meant over the past year or how many hours federal police officers spent on additional checks. But Dobrindt said the measure would continue in the coming months.
According to Wulf Winterhoff, spokesman for the Federal Police in Bad Bramstedt, which is responsible for the border with Denmark, the ministerial decision “had no direct impact on the deployment of forces on the German-Danish border.” He says it was “not even necessary” for the ARD studio in Berlin.
What Dobrindt has really changed is the practice of the federal police now (re)turning asylum seekers back from the border. Since taking office until the end of April 2026, around 1,340 people have been turned back. Legally, this is only permitted in a situation of system overload – and there are serious doubts about this. These doubts were confirmed by the Administrative Court in Berlin last summer. Dobrindt dismissed the decision claiming that it was an individual case, that is, a decision, and continued with the existing practice.
During the previous government's term, the blocking was practiced at the border, but exclusively for people who did not have the right to enter and did not apply for asylum. Most of such cases occurred between spring and autumn 2024, first at the Polish border, then at the Czech one. Overall, even under Dobrindt, the number of refusals did not change significantly.
People who have returned often try to re-enter, not always successfully. Between May and December 2025, the federal police, according to its own data, prevented around 1,500 people from entering German soil. In 2026, until the end of March, this applied to around 300 more people.
From a research perspective, the benefit of border controls is difficult to prove, says migration expert Victoria Rietig from the German Foreign Policy Association in an interview with ARD.
“If the numbers go up, they are said to be brightening a dark figure. If they go down, they are said to be discouraging people. If they stay the same, they are said to be stabilizing.” Any development can be declared as proof of the supposed effectiveness. “Scientifically it is complete nonsense, but politically – brilliant.”
Legal doubts
At the end of April, the Administrative Court in Koblenz declared the border controls with Luxembourg illegal. The court found that the Federal Government had not sufficiently justified its claim that the high level of irregular migration had overwhelmed the authorities. The decision is not yet final, but it is in line with a number of previous court decisions relating to controls at the Austrian border. The Interior Ministry has announced the appeal and in this case also speaks of an “individual case”.
Federal Police Commissioner Uli Grötsch believes the government should treat the court rulings differently. "I urgently appeal that these decisions be taken seriously and that there be a discussion about how such measures can be legally justified," the SPD politician told ARD. He adds that this is also important for the acceptance of the checks by the general public.
In the ARD show "Bericht aus Berlin", Dobrindt made it clear that border controls will continue. Only when the European migration system is fully functional will it be possible to "gradually exit the control regime". Today "it is still too early to talk about when this will be".
Every six months, Germany must notify the European Union of any extension of border controls. The next such extension is scheduled for September. At the same time, the government must explain to the European Commission why the controls, contrary to Schengen rules, are still necessary and why security and public order would be jeopardized without them.
This could become increasingly difficult after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that the numbers had fallen so much “that one can speak of solving a large part of the problem.” Indeed, the number of asylum applications has fallen sharply: from 350,000 in 2023, to 250,000 in 2024 and to 170,000 last year.
“Impressive PR”
The question, however, is how much credit the current coalition can take for this trend. "Some migration policy measures have had a direct effect," says Rietig. "We restricted family reunification, we stopped accepting refugees - that led to fewer people coming to Germany."
But that doesn't explain the drastic drop in numbers, Rietig says. External factors are also decisive, such as the end of the civil war in Syria a year and a half ago. The numbers started falling at the end of the previous coalition's term. That Chancellor Merz's government is able to present it as its "turning point in migration," Rietig calls it "impressive PR."
Little has changed in terms of deportations. In the first quarter of 2026, 4,807 people were deported, according to data requested by the Left. In the same period in 2025, during the government of Olaf Scholz, there were 6,151 deportations.
However, Dobrindt emphasizes that it is to his credit that the perpetrators of crimes in Syria are being deported again. After deportations to Afghanistan began in August 2024, the Minister concluded an agreement with the Taliban that allows for the orderly return of these people.
In the past twelve months, a total of 138 men have been deported to Afghanistan. In exchange, the Taliban sent two diplomats to Germany. At the same time, the minister canceled hundreds of previous promises to accept people who had previously been promised protection in Germany./DW/
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