The head of Berlin’s main registration centre for asylum seekers has resigned in disgrace over the chaos in his office, which is currently trying to process record numbers of migrants.
Franz Allert quit shortly after Berlin mayor Michael Müller called for “new leadership” at the centre, saying that Mr Allert was “overwhelmed” by the situation.
The centre, known as Lageso, is the first port of call for migrants when they arrive in Germany’s capital city. However, since the start of the migrant crisis, the centre has been swamped by the sheer number of new arrivals.
The area around the centre is now severely overcrowded, with hundreds of migrants camped out in the streets, sometimes for days on end, as they wait to be processed. The Local says that this overcrowding is in turn leading to crime, with one four-year-old recently abducted and raped by a paedophile.
Der Tagesspiegel says that Mr Allert conceded before his resignation that things at the centre had not improved since his appointment: “The situation is still unsatisfactory despite the significant changes we have been implementing.”
However, one employee at the centre said a new boss was unlikely to change the situation: “Not unless he brings 100 additional staff.”
The resignation comes as Germany officially registers its one millionth asylum application of the year. The figure exceeded all official estimations, although, as Breitbart London reported yesterday, it may in fact be an underestimate.
Emilia Müller, the minister for social affairs for Bavaria, confirmed that over one million people had been processed through so-called ‘EASY’ computer system. “From January until today, a million asylum seekers have registered at the initial reception centres of the federal states through the so-called EASY-System and were then accommodated,” she said in a statement.
However, some analysts are suggesting the figure may be even higher as it takes time to process new applications on the system.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière predicted in January 300,000 migrants would arrive in the country this year. However, as the migrant crisis went into full flow, he revised this figure up to 800,000 in August.
“It’s a challenge for all of us at the state, federal and local levels,” Mr de Maizière said.
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