A Berlin court has ruled that German authorities violated European asylum law when they deported three Somali nationals at the border with Poland, issuing a legal setback to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s tough new stance on immigration.
The decision, announced Monday, found that the three Somali asylum seekers — two men and one woman — were unlawfully turned back at a train station in Frankfurt an der Oder, near Germany’s eastern border. The court emphasized that while the applicants could not demand entry beyond the formal border crossing, Germany was still legally obligated to process their asylum claims.
German border police had rejected the individuals on the grounds that they had entered from a “safe third country” — in this case, Poland. However, the court found this reasoning inconsistent with the European Union’s Dublin Regulation, which stipulates that the first responsible EU country for an asylum claim must assess the application. The ruling concluded that Germany, under current arrangements, held that responsibility and acted in breach of EU obligations.
This is the first court challenge to Chancellor Merz’s conservative-led government since it assumed office in February, propelled by rising anti-immigration sentiment and pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, now the second-largest bloc in Parliament.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the border deportations, arguing that Germany’s asylum system is overwhelmed.
“The numbers are too high. We are sticking to our practice,” Dobrindt said, adding that the government would present further legal arguments to defend its actions in court.
Opposition leaders, however, seized on the ruling as a significant defeat for the Merz government. Irene Mihalic of the Green Party called it “a severe defeat,” accusing the administration of pursuing unilateral border policies “for populist purposes” and straining relations with European partners.
Karl Kopp, managing director of the immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl, condemned the expulsions as an “unlawful practice” and called for the immediate return of the deported Somalis to Germany.
The verdict comes amid broader controversy over Germany’s new migration approach. In May, the Merz government issued a directive authorizing border police to turn back undocumented individuals — including asylum seekers — at points of entry. The policy marked a sharp departure from former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door approach during the 2015 refugee crisis.
The European Commission has since proposed a bloc-wide mechanism allowing EU states to reject asylum seekers who travel through designated “safe” third countries. That plan, currently under debate, has drawn criticism from human rights groups and still awaits approval from national parliaments and the European Parliament.
With input from Al Jazeera, Reuters
