No one is illegal!

Everyone has her*his own story to tell. Every day people are deported against their will and almost everyone looses friends, family and connections in Germany. Ausländerbehörden are able to decide about peoples lives and future.
Processes and justifications for deportations are very different. From 25,000 deportations in 2016, 4,000 went to member states of the European Union based on the Dublin-III-regulation which determines the member state that is responsible for the asylum process. Refugees are deported to Malta, Italy, Hungary or Bulgaria and since march 2017 also to Greece again – countries where they first reached European Union territory and where they face homelessness and misery. 17,548 people were deported to the Balkans and since December 2016 there are monthly chartered deportations to Afghanistan.

Stop deportation on your own!

Most deportations start from Frankfurt Airport – on average 15 people every day (5452 in total in 2016). For the first deportation often regular flights are used, where people travel together with tourists and business people to a country they escaped from or don’t know. Deportations are accompanied by German Federal Police officers, who behave more or less violent to enforce the deportation. Inside the plane people can try to stop their deportation on their own. If passengers don’t travel voluntarily, pilots of many airlines are requested to fly without them – this is also the position of the pilots union “Cockpit”. If people don’t sit down and clearly protest against their deportation, there is a good chance that this deportation will be stopped.
Initiatives like Vernetzung gegen Abschiebung Hessen/Mainz (network against deportation) try to support concerned people. Find more information here.
The Ausländerbehörde often tries to deport that person again – which won’t work if e.g. the time limit of transfer for the Dublin-Procedure has timed out. On the one hand it is good to resist a deportation, on the other hand people often face a second deportation with police company. The deported person has to pay the high costs of the deportation – if s*he comes back to Germany and also gets an entry ban. Furthermore, a violent deportation can be dangerous and cause traumatization. Because two persons that were tied up on the plane died by suffocation during a forced deportation, at some airports deportation monitoring looks over some deportations. They are not allowed to intervene, but document assaults and infringements.

Custody to secure deportation without a crime

Before a forced deportation or after successfully resisting their deportation, people can be imprisoned for up to 18 months (normally up to 6 months of custody to secure deportation). The police can also take deportees to “Ausreisegewahrsam” (imprisonment) up to 4 days without court order. Their freedom is taken like criminals to ensure their successful deportation. Using their right of freedom of movement is treated like a crime. This inhuman procedure makes it very difficult to resist against one’s deportation as well as getting adequate counselling.

Counselling and support

With support of a good consultation or a lawyer there are still many ways to go – even right before a deportation: legal protection (Eilrechtsschutz), deportation obstacles (like diseases, pregnancies, no passport) or hardcase-petition (Härtefall-Petition). But: the earlier you take action, the better it is. A rejected apply for asylum does not automatically mean deportation. You can take action against the negative decision 2 weeks upon receipt at the responsible administrative court (Verwaltungsgericht). In case of Dublin-decisions and “apparently causeless”-rejections (“offensichtlich unbegründet”) it is one week (its also necessary to apply for legal protection (Eilrechtsschutz) then). If possible, these steps should be taken with support of a lawyer or consultation.
Unfortunately the struggle against deportation isn’t always successful. Post-Deportation-Monitoring-Networks help deported people with their arrival and support them after their deportation. They can also document infringements.

Charter flights to the Balkans

Over the last years, most deported people came from Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia. Those states were declared “safe countries of origin” by the German government. Applies for asylum from people from these countries can be rejected as “offensichtlich unbegründet” (“apparently causeless”) easily. This group is often deported within few days – stigmatized and rejected without serious examination of their cases.
These deportations (and those to Nigeria) are increasingly coordinated by Frontex on a European level and executed as chartered deportations. From Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Kassel-Calden or Baden-Baden many people get deported at the same time with chartered planes and massive police company. To resist against these deportations is very difficult because they’re not getting much publicity and take place on special non-public areas at the airports. The alliance Abschiebestop in Düsseldorf mobilizes against chartered deportations.
If you have more information about deportations to the Balkans or about other topics, please mail to vga [ät] antira.info