Homelessness in Germany has dramatically worsened with the onset of the migrant crisis, rising by 150 per cent to 860,000 between 2014 and 2016.
The rise was driven in large part by the addition of some 440,000 vagrant migrants to the books, Zeit Online reports.
The Federal Working Group for Homelessness (BAG W) statistics were extensive but not comprehensive, being based on a survey of some 176 facilities and services providing temporary accommodation to the homeless.
“Immigration has dramatically worsened the overall situation, but is by no means the sole cause of the new housing shortage,” insisted Thomas Specht, Managing Director of BAG W.
The agency does not appear to provide any information on the ethnic background of the 420,000 non-migrants.
On top of the figures for people registered as homeless and in temporary accommodation — possibly including migrants who are convicted sex offenders at risk of re-offending — Germany also has at least 52,000 homeless sleeping on the streets.
This represents a rise of one third since 2014, with migrants from within the European Union represented disproportionately.
Indeed, such migrants make up 50 per cent of all homeless in some cities — a situation which lines up with the British experience since the EU extended Free Movement rights to Romania and Bulgaria in 2014, leading to an influx of begging gangs, often Romany Gypsy in origin.
Breitbart London reported in January 2017 how so-called ‘rough sleepers’ were up 50 per cent in England over a two year period, with around a fifth of them identified as migrants.
BAG W does not expect the situation in Germany to improve any time soon, with Specht predicting a further increase of around 350,000 from 2017 to 2018, raising the current figures to 1.2 million, unless there are “massive efforts” by federal, state and local governments.
Whether these efforts might include a reduction in the annual inflow of migrants is unclear, as Chancellor Angela Merkel — who suffered substantial losses in Germany’s recent federal elections — appears to be resisting attempts by potential coalition partners to make her agree to a hard cap on immigration.