(de-news.net) – Due to financial constraints, the Federal Government has announced plans to stop sponsoring independent asylum counseling, which has drawn criticism for its lack of transparency. Hesse is simultaneously pushing for increased authority to use mobile phone tracking to find deportable migrants. According to recent migration data, Germany’s net migration declined precipitously in 2025 as a result of both a persistent downturn in migration from EU member states and a decrease in inflows from important asylum-origin countries.
For the first time, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has officially confirmed that independent asylum-procedure counseling will no longer receive federal financial support. The announcement was made in the ministry’s response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the Green Party, in which officials argued that mounting pressure on the federal budget required a strict prioritization of public expenditures. According to the ministry, an internal review identified opportunities for budgetary savings, including reductions affecting the independent asylum counseling program. Ministry figures indicate that 67,687 asylum seekers received assistance from independent counseling centers during the previous year. The decision to discontinue federal funding was said to be based on the findings of an evaluation of the program, although the report on which that assessment rests has not yet been published.
The Greens criticized the fact that welfare organizations had already been informed in March that federal funding would soon be withdrawn despite the continued absence of the evaluation report from the public domain. In response to those concerns, the ministry stated that the document was currently in its final stages of preparation and was expected to be released during the second quarter of 2026. According to media reports, Green parliamentary manager Filiz Polat argued that decisions concerning the future of such an important counseling service should be based on full access to the relevant evidence and findings. She maintained that transparency constituted a fundamental requirement for credible and evidence-based policymaking rather than an optional principle. Polat also called for the program’s funding to be secured during the ongoing parliamentary budget process and urged Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil to clarify the federal government’s position. In her view, any stated commitment to an effective, rules-based asylum system would need to be matched by sustained support for independent legal and procedural counseling services over the long term.
Separately, Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) announced plans to advocate for the use of mobile-phone location tracking in cases involving individuals who are subject to deportation orders. Ahead of the forthcoming Interior Ministers’ Conference in Hamburg, he indicated that police and immigration authorities should be granted the authority to locate such individuals through their mobile devices under clearly defined legal conditions. The state of Hesse has already submitted a corresponding proposal for consideration at the meeting. Poseck argued that individuals who deliberately evade deportation should experience the consequences associated with the enforcement of the rule of law. He further stated that the most common reason deportations fail is that the person concerned cannot be located when authorities attempt to carry out the removal. According to figures provided by the minister, more than 13,000 individuals in Hesse are currently under an obligation to leave the country.
EU migration continues downward trend as overall inflows weaken
Separate data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed that Germany recorded net migration of approximately 235,000 people in 2025. This represented a decline of 45 percent compared with the net migration figure of 430,000 recorded in 2024. The statistics indicated roughly 1.48 million arrivals and 1.25 million departures during 2025, compared with approximately 1.69 million arrivals and 1.26 million departures in the previous year. The figures therefore point to a substantial reduction in immigration flows, with arrivals declining by around 13 percent year over year, while the number of departures fell only marginally. Taken together, these developments resulted in a considerably lower net migration balance than that recorded one year earlier.
One of the principal factors cited for the decline was a marked reduction in net migration from several major countries of origin for asylum seekers. Compared with 2024, net inflows from Syria fell by 67 percent, while those from Turkey and Afghanistan each declined by 41 percent. The reduction corresponded with lower numbers of asylum applications submitted by nationals of those countries. Net migration from Ukraine also continued its downward trend, decreasing by 21 percent compared with the previous year. These developments contributed significantly to the overall reduction in Germany’s net migration balance during 2025.
A further contributing factor was the continuing decline in migration from member states of the European Union. Germany’s migration balance with the EU stood at negative 54,000 in 2025, compared with negative 34,000 in 2024, indicating a larger net outflow relative to the previous year. The most pronounced deteriorations in migration balances were recorded in relation to Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Greece, and Italy. Poland and Bulgaria also registered the largest migration deficits in their migration relationship with Germany during the year. By contrast, migration balances involving the Netherlands and Romania showed modest improvements. Italy nevertheless recorded the highest positive migration balance among EU member states. Viewed by broader geographic origin, migrants arriving from Asia made the largest contribution to Germany’s overall net migration gain, followed by migrants from Europe and Africa, underscoring the continued importance of these regions in shaping the country’s migration dynamics.
Audio: TTSFree
