European countries move to deport Syrian asylum seekers
Several European countries have said they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians.
Germany, home to the largest Syrian population outside the Middle East, says it will freeze asylum processing for Syrian citizens.
An official from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees told Der Spiegel news magazine on Monday that the move would place asylum decisions “on shaky ground”.
About 1.3 million people with Syrian roots live in Germany, the vast majority of whom arrived in 2015 and 2016 when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed refugees fleeing Syria’s conflict.
However, in more recent years, Germany’s political climate has turned sharply against refugees and immigration.
Alice Weidel of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany reacted to Sunday’ rallies by some Syrians celebrating militants' takeover of Damascus at the weekend.
“Anyone in Germany who celebrates ‘free Syria’ evidently no longer has any reason to flee,” she wrote on X. “They should return to Syria immediately.”
On Monday, senior members of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), argued for Germany to begin returning Syrians to their homeland en masse.
The party is leading in polls before federal elections in February with campaign promises that include cracking down on migration and increasing deportations.
The French interior ministry said it too would put asylum requests from Syrians on hold.
A spokesperson from the British interior ministry said in a statement that Britain paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims.
“The Home Office has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation,” the statement read.
In the UK, by the end of February 2021, more than 20,000 Syrian refugees had been resettled under a government scheme, according to the Refugee Council.
The UK decision comes after Germany, Austria and other European countries ordered a halt to asylum applications by Syrians.
Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, has begun preparing a "deportation program." Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the interior ministry “to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants.”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he had “instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation program to Syria.”
Denmark, Sweden and Norway also said Monday they were suspending the examination of asylum applications from Syrian refugees.
The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, a coalition partner in the government, said residence permits for Syrian refugees should now be “reviewed.”
Destructive militant forces are behind the change of power in Syria, wrote their leader Jimmie Akesson on X.
“I see that groups are happy about this development here in Sweden. You should see it as a good opportunity to go home.”
Armed groups, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants, announced on December 8 that they had fully captured the Syrian capital and confirmed reports of the fall of the President Assad government.
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