Deportation in Germany? Venezuelan refugees fear – DW – 06/28/2023

In a joint statement last April, including various associations supporting Venezuelan refugees in Germany Einheit to Venezuela, VENEZUELA GERMANYAnd the Saxony Refugee Council condemned the deportation of two Venezuelan citizens in January and February 2023, while expressing concern about the growing number of Venezuelan refugees arriving in Germany.

truly, Venezuela Germany is the Latin American country with the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers. More than 1,500 applications have been received so far this year German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF, its acronym in German), the majority was reserved for the federal state of Saxony. Not a new phenomenon based on the growing trend since 2017. However, this is the first deportation in four years.

“It’s too early to talk about a trend, because there are only two cases, but it could increase if there are more ‘apparently unsubstantiated’ responses,” Milci Liebezeit, from the association, told DW. Einheit to Venezuela, indicating applications rejected for lack of data. “The possibility of an appeal is actually very difficult, and the possibility of deportation is very high,” he says.

According to the German Asylum Act (Acylgesets), applications that are not properly justified or present contradictions – in most cases during the interview – are rejected. Applicants have one week to appeal, while waiting for the hearing and the time for deportation to run parallel. Although the proportion of this type of response is not specified by BAMF, recent data indicates an increase in denied applications.

“We’re seeing a turning point,” said Julian Ferrin, vice president VENEZUELA GERMANY, in reference to BAMF principles. In fact, of the 1,553 applications filed so far in 2023, 376 were negative.

This was the case with two people who were deported earlier in the year. Many others still have 14 days to appeal while they wait for a hearing, which can take up to two years, if their claims are not denied for this “unsubstantiated” reason. “The person uses that time to learn the language and get a job or internship (Ausbildung) It allows them to stay in the country,” explains Liebezeit.

Lack of understanding and preparation

According to experts consulted by DW, a combination of factors such as lack of consultation on the part of migrants and their own preparation in making the request and on the German side contributes to the rise in these denials. Administration.

The associations have emphasized the lack of documentation on the part of these officials responsible for the interviews. “They don’t fully understand the root cause of Venezuelan forced migration,” María Gabriela Trompetero, a sociologist at the University of Bielefeld, tells DW. “There is a lack of understanding of what constitutes a complex humanitarian emergency in Venezuela,” he insists. From civil society, they suggest a re-awakening of the dynamics of persecution in the Latin American country in federal states.

“The country has not been ‘stabilized’, nor has the Maduro government been democratized. On the contrary. What exists in Venezuela is a massive socioeconomic breakdown and consolidation of repressive mechanisms,” Lourdes Gouvia, a specialized sociologist, told DW in Latin. in American Affairs from the University of Nebraska.

According to Einheit to VenezuelaAs of today, more than 4,000 Venezuelans live in the state of Saxony. Although the organizations that help these refugees do not have an answer as to why Venezuelans are in this state, the BAMF points out that “the allocation is based on the current capacities of each reception center and the number of applicants for each country. ,” according to DW Lioba Hebauer of the BAMF press office. In this case, proportionally, Venezuelans are assigned to Saxony, in cities such as Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Hoerswerda, and to a lesser extent in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg.

Too much fear

Most requests must be made from Venezuelan immigrants Persecution for political reasons. In fact, by 2023, 14 have already been recognized under this argument. The other situation, DW Ligia Bolívar, a researcher at the Human Rights Center of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas points out, is due to a humanitarian emergency, of which 9 have been accepted, although it is more complicated to verify. In this sense, migrants are urged to seek the necessary legal advice. “It’s not enough to say there’s an economic crisis in Venezuela,” Trompedero insists.

On the other hand, these two deportation cases have created anxiety in society, Liebezeit explains. “For example, if there is 1 case within the community, that single case puts the entire community in distress, emotionally destroyed, because they are afraid,” he says. Trumpeter also acknowledges that the verification of deportations has increased the psychological problems of many of these migrants.

In 2022, Germany deported 12,945 people, lower figures than before the pandemic, where in 2019 the figure reached 22,000.

Why Germany?

Venezuela ranks tenth in the number of applicants for asylum and asylum in Germany. Syria ranks first with 35,785 applications, followed by Afghanistan and Turkey.

“Many of these migrants who come to Germany are returning from Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, where they find out how difficult it is to join the job market and, moreover, they start to experience discrimination and extreme social uncertainty,” he told DW. Manuel Silva-Ferrer is a Venezuelan researcher based in Colombia. “Additionally, these Latin American countries are not capable of absorbing such a large immigrant mass in such a short period of time.”

According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, There are more than 7.13 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela in the world; More than 1 million are asylum seekers and 211,000 are recognized as refugees. There are currently 10,100 Venezuelans in Germany, according to German government data.

(He)