New figures released by the German Interior Ministry at the request of a Free Democratic Party (FDP) MP show that the regional governments have only deported 10 foreign radical Islamic extremists while 745 extremists in total still remain in the country.
The figures come after a parliamentary request from FDP politician Konstantin Kuhle and show a lack of ability at German regional governments to deport large numbers of dangerous Islamic extremists. The 745 extremists on the list are considered by the government to be under reasonable suspicion of wanting to carry out acts of terrorism Neue Ruhr Zeitung reports.
Mr Kuhle said in response to the government’s answer that there was a clear “enforcement problem” and singled out the region of Bavaria, which is ruled by the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying, “It is significant that of all [the regions] the CSU-governed Bavaria so far has carried out no such risk diversion.”
“If necessary, the authorities must be better staffed and financially better equipped,” he added.
According to a report from the U.S.-based think-tank, the Heritage Foundation published last August, around half of the suspects in terror plot cases are asylum seekers.
“There were no plots in Germany in 2014, and only two in 2015. In 2016, this increased eightfold. There is a straightforward reason for this: In 2015, Germany took in over 1 million refugees and 2016 saw a surge in plots involving refugees,” the report said.
Germany has had great difficulties with deportations in general for a number of factors including asylum seekers who come to the country without papers, resistance from regional parliaments with left-wing coalition governments and from migrants simply hiding from authorities.
Earlier this week Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller announced a new incentive programme to help migrants return to their homelands that would see many trained in professions in their home countries in partnership with corporations like Siemens.
The new programme comes after it was revealed that 21,000 attempted deportations had failed for various reasons in 2017.