The Social Democratic Party’s internal working group on migration and diversity has proposed the establishment of a dedicated Ministry of Migration and Community Participation. In a newly released policy paper, the group recommended creating this new ministry to oversee issues related to migration, civic engagement, and the promotion of democratic values.
According to the policy paper, the Federal Ministry of the Interior takes a predominantly security-focused approach to migration—an approach the authors describe as narrow and insufficient. They argue that this one-sided perspective “overlooks many important viewpoints and must be brought to an end.” The paper recommends transferring responsibility for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees from the Interior Ministry to either the Ministry for Family Affairs or the Ministry of Labor.
The policy paper issued by the Social Democratic Party’s working group also included sharp criticism of the exploratory paper put forward by the Christian Social Union, the Social Democratic Union, and the Christian Democratic Party during coalition talks following the recent elections. The group called for the paper to be firmly rejected and excluded from any future government agenda.
The exploratory paper includes a set of proposals previously suggested by the CDU leader Friedrich Merz, such as border rejections, the suspension of family reunification, and the termination of voluntary admission programs, in addition to expanding the list of countries considered safe and increasing deportations, especially to Syria and Afghanistan.
It also includes granting the police broad powers to detain and temporarily guard foreigners who are required to leave the country, arrest criminals wanted for deportation, and restrict payment cards for refugees.
The SPD working group considers the measures proposed during the coalition agreement discussions to form the new government to be entirely unacceptable. It has called for the withdrawal of the SPD’s consent to these points during the exploratory talks. Additionally, the working group has demanded adequate representation of citizens with a migrant background in government positions. Chaired by Aziz Bozkurt and Stella Kirjian, the group also emphasized that the next government must make a clear commitment to upholding human rights.
Before the 2021 elections, Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party called for the establishment of a dedicated migration ministry. At the time, she stated, “It is time to talk not only about migration, but above all about how to create real equality and participation in society—and to achieve this, migration policy must be separated from the Ministry of the Interior. Diversity and participation policies should be placed at the heart of a single, dedicated ministry.” However, despite Baerbock later serving as Foreign Minister, this proposal never made it to the Bundestag for consideration.
