German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed on Monday to crack down on irregular migration after a Syrian asylum seeker was charged with murder in a stabbing attack that left three dead in western North Rhine-Westphalia state last week—and to deport all found to be ineligible or involved in crime. "This was terrorism, terrorism against us all," he said during a visit to the town of Solingen where the incident occurred on Friday, the BBC reported.
The Chancellor said illegal immigration "must go down" and that his government would do "everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and should not stay here in Germany are repatriated and deported" and deportations would be speeded up if necessary.
Friday's deadly attack took on a political dimension once officials disclosed that the suspect was Syrian refugee Issa Al H., 26, suspected of links to the terror organisation Islamic State, and stirred up the tense debate about migration.
Immediately after the attack, conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz asked that the country start refusing refugees from Syria and Afghanistan and impose strict controls on all borders. Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alice Weidel called for a full stop to migration, BBC reported.
Its governing center-left Social Democratic Party says Germany remains committed to its legal obligations and humanitarian commitments to assisting those fleeing persecution but has vowed to deport migrants who have committed serious crimes and people whose application for asylum has been rejected.
The suspect in the Solingen attack arrived in the country in 2022 as a refugee, but his asylum application was rejected and he was ordered deported to his country, Bulgaria, where he had already registered for asylum. However, officials have been unable to find and deport him-a lapse which has fueled further controversy.
The influx of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers annually has always been an issue that divides the Germans between the supporters of and opponents of the policy.
However, the Solingen incident might also determine this coming Sunday regional elections in the eastern landers of Saxony and Thuringia. "Already preparing is the AfD, who also is a part of this, whose chances it fancies. Already, the group has used the attack as part of its campaign.".
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