Anchor center

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anchor centers are specific reception centers for asylum seekers in Germany . The name appears in the coalition agreement of the grand coalition of 2018 and stands for “Center for Arrival, Decision-Making, Repatriation (AnkER)”. Refugees are to be accommodated in an anchor center until they are distributed to communities or deported to their country of origin.

Various authorities, such as a youth welfare office or the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), should work together in an anchor center . Basically there is a "duty to stay". People with positive prospects for asylum status should be quickly distributed to the municipalities, while the rest of them should stay in the anchor center until they are deported or voluntarily return .

The first seven anchor centers were established on August 1, 2018. These are existing facilities in Bavaria (in Bamberg, Schweinfurt, Deggendorf, Donauwörth, Zirndorf, Regensburg, Manching), the names of which have been changed; in part, this also applies to the concept. Anchor centers were also established in Saxony in August; later the Saarland followed suit. Some institutions in other federal states, for example in Baden-Württemberg, are called, for example, "state reception centers" and are sometimes viewed as having the same functions as anchor centers.

Coalition agreement

The chairmen of the three coalition parties will present the coalition agreement on March 12, 2018 in Berlin.

According to the coalition agreement between the CDU / CSU and the SPD dated February 7, 2018, asylum procedures should be processed quickly, comprehensively and legally, in central facilities. Responsibility and sponsorship will still be agreed between the federal and state governments. The coalition agreement still writes the abbreviation as AnKER and breaks it down as arrival, communal distribution, decision or repatriation.

The goals are to be achieved through:

  • Accommodation in communal accommodation for asylum seekers
  • Cooperation between the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees , the Federal Employment Agency , youth welfare offices, the judiciary, immigration authorities and others
  • Identification of those arriving at the anchor center who have to participate in expanding the methods
  • Instruction on duty to cooperate
  • Improvement of the work of the BAMF
  • Change of benefits if a person concerned is to blame for the fact that he cannot be deported
  • Higher deportation rates through changes ("more practicable design") to deportation detention , exit detention , complaint procedures, lower requirements and clearer regulations
  • Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (“as well as other countries with a regular recognition rate below five percent”) are to be classified as safe countries of origin ; The right to individual examinations remains; Obstacles to deportation should be reduced (e.g. with regard to the willingness of the countries of origin to accept)
  • Authorities are given "uncomplicated access" to the central register of foreigners , which is to be expanded further

There is a residence obligation, often also referred to as a “residence obligation”. This means that those affected may leave the center at any time, but the associated city or district only with permission.

An affected person should “generally” not stay longer than 18 months in the reception facility or anchor center; in the case of families with minor children, six months. Those affected will then

  • handed over to the custody of a youth authority if the minor has been determined in the anchor center;
  • Distributed to the municipalities if there is a “positive prospect of staying ”;
  • or encouraged to leave Germany.

Those affected should receive independent and comprehensive advice on asylum procedures. They should be accommodated in a gender and child-friendly manner.

Location discussion

In total, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer expects up to 40 anchor centers throughout Germany. Several previous reception facilities in Bavaria or the planned central state facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia are named as models for anchor centers. On the other hand, the CSU could not prevail with the idea of ​​a transit zone or transit centers. There, those affected are considered not to have entered the country and can leave as they wish, but they cannot enter Germany. The SPD had criticized this as “detention zones”.

In a pilot phase, a number of anchor centers are to be set up by autumn 2018. This requires cooperation with the federal states. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration Joachim Stamp linked an anchor center in his federal state with the specific design of the concept and with a migration summit. Other politicians such as the Lord Mayor of Mannheim Peter Kurz have already rejected an anchor center in their place.

Seehofer had claimed that there was interest from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Bavaria and Lower Saxony. In May it turned out, according to Die Zeit , that only Saxony and Bavaria wanted to take part in the pilot project. The governments of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony announced that they had not decided to participate.

The first anchor centers went into operation in Bavaria on August 1, 2018, one in each of the seven administrative districts . Locations are Bamberg (former Warner Barracks), Deggendorf , Donauwörth (former Alfred Delp barracks ), Manching , Regensburg , Schweinfurt (former Ledward Barracks, Conn Barracks) and Zirndorf .

Evaluation and criticism

Jörg Radek, chairman of the police union in the federal police , said negative about the plan . In his opinion, these are “camps” in which those seeking protection would be barracked and isolated from the population. Those affected should apparently not feel well, although they would have to stay there for months. That causes aggressiveness. According to Radek, the federal police should not be entrusted with the anchor centers, since the accommodation of asylum seekers is not a federal matter.

A commentator in the Berliner Zeitung criticized that the term anchor center was euphemistic and disguised as it promised calming in stormy seas. What is to be feared, however, are “inhumane mass accommodation [...] behind walls and barbed wire”, guarded by the federal police. It is not about integration , but about exclusion . The CSU had prevailed with their intention in the coalition agreement so as not to lose any more voters to the AfD .

Representatives of religious aid organizations, such as the Catholic Caritas or the Protestant Diakonie , reject the centers. In the opinion of Caritas President Peter Neher, asylum seekers should not be isolated, as this is not conducive to integration. The Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie pointed out the potential for conflict that arises from the mixture of rejected applicants who expect to be deported in an institution with people who have yet to submit their asylum applications.

The refugee support organization Pro Asyl is also very critical of anchor centers. The managing director of the association, Günter Burkhardt , told the “ Heilbronner Voice ” at the beginning of May 2018: “Anyone who locks people up in anchor centers for many months will destroy any prospect of integration. After a year and a half of isolation, it becomes extremely difficult for people to gain a foothold in a normal life. "

24 refugee and family associations, including once again Pro Asyl, wrote an open letter against anchor centers and pointed out that the centers were not a suitable place for children and young people. According to the associations, 45% of the refugees in 2017 were children and young people.

In its declaration, the German Professional Association for Social Work (DBSH) positions itself clearly against the anchor centers and refers to the risk of re-traumatisation of refugees who are particularly vulnerable. He sees the “structural denial of housing, language acquisition and social participation” as well as the lack of “access to decentralized, independent legal advice” violating fundamental and human rights. In addition, the placement of children in such centers poses a threat to the best interests of the child , since it can be proven that they are disadvantaged in all areas of life such as health, education, social participation, etc. compared to children living with their own families. Basically, “barracking” means “massive stigmatization of people seeking protection”. Such centers would confirm and strengthen right-wing populism.

On the other hand, Robert Seegmüller , Chairman of the Association of German Administrative Judges , made a positive statement . He hopes that this will result in a more consistent enforcement of immigration and asylum law and the enforcement of emigration. Authorities and courts could identify the asylum seekers, better contact them and bring them to court. A direct deportation is possible from the anchor center.

Situation in other states

In Switzerland, a distinction is made between centers in which asylum seekers remain during the procedure (federal Ayl centers with a procedural function), centers in which rejected applicants wait for their deportation (federal ayl centers with procedural function) and centers for the accommodation of asylum seekers, which ensure “public safety and order significantly ”or disrupt the operation of the normal federal asylum centers through their behavior. At the same time as the opening of these new centers, it was decided that asylum procedures should be carried out more quickly with effect from March 1, 2019 and that 60% of asylum procedures should be completed within 140 days.

For Austria see: Landessammelquartier .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Caterina Lobenstein : Do these people have to go to the anchor center? In: The time . May 20, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Marcel Leubecher: The Union and SPD want to change that in immigration policy. In: welt.de. February 7, 2018, accessed May 4, 2017 .
  3. ↑ These are the seven new anchor centers in Bavaria. In: sueddeutsche.de. August 1, 2018, accessed August 1, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Nora Ernst: State Reception Center for Refugees: Anchor Center in Lebach starts. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. September 28, 2018, accessed August 9, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Tobias Betz: Anchor Center for one year - only Saarland followed suit. In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. August 1, 2019, accessed August 9, 2019 .
  6. ↑ A new departure for Europe A new dynamic for Germany A new cohesion for our country. (PDF) In: mdr.de. February 7, 2018, pp. 104-106 , accessed May 4, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Katharina Schuler: Asylum Policy: What refugees can expect in the anchor center . In: The time . August 1, 2018, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed January 16, 2019]).
  8. ↑ a b c Annette Berger: Deportation camps in Germany? How the federal police rebelled against their employer Seehofer. In: stern.de. April 27, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Kirsten Bialdiga and Gregor Mayntz: Pilot project for refugees also in NRW. May 4, 2018, Retrieved May 4, 2018 .
  10. ↑ “Anchor Centers” for asylum seekers: NRW is considering participation. In: rtl.de. May 3, 2018, archived from the original on May 3, 2018 ; accessed on May 4, 2018 .
  11. ^ Federal states refuse to support Seehofer. In: ZEIT ONLINE. May 16, 2018, accessed May 18, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Andreas Glas, Claudia Henzler, Matthias Köpf, Christian Rost: These are the seven new anchor centers in Bavaria. Süddeutsche Zeitung, August 1, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  13. ↑ Andrea Müller: Supervision in anchor centers: “Not with us!” In: SWR.de. April 25, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Kordula Doerfler: The CSU apparently wants to overtake the AfD on the right. In: berliner-zeitung.de. April 5, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Neher: "We are concerned about the establishment of so-called anchor centers". ( Memento of August 2, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Press release on caritas.de of May 28, 2018, accessed on August 1, 2018.
  16. ↑ Objections to planned anchor centers are increasing. In: Deutsche Welle , May 4, 2018, accessed on August 1, 2018.
  17. ↑ In: “ Those who do not receive the right to stay should not even settle down ” , Die Welt , May 5, 2018
  18. ↑ Family associations oppose “anchor centers” for refugees In: tagesspiegel.de , May 26, 2018.
  19. ↑ explanation | Accommodation for deportation - social workers against the barracking of refugees. (PDF) In: dbsh.de. Retrieved August 1, 2018 .
  20. ↑ This is how experts rate the refugee anchor centers planned by Seehofer. In: handelsblatt.com. April 9, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Mirjam Moll: Switzerland will deport more quickly in future. In: Südkurier. February 28, 2019, accessed August 9, 2019 .