Berlin’s immigration authorities are moving to deport four young foreign residents on allegations related to participation in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, an unprecedented move that raises serious concerns over civil liberties in Germany.
The deportation orders, issued under German migration law, were made amid political pressure and over internal objections from the head of the state of Berlin’s immigration agency.
The internal strife arose because three of those targeted for deportation are citizens of European Union member states who normally enjoy freedom of movement between E.U. countries. None of the four has been convicted of any crimes.
“What we’re seeing here is straight out of the far right’s playbook,” said Alexander Gorski, a lawyer representing two of the protesters. “You can see it in the U.S. and Germany, too: Political dissent is silenced by targeting the migration status of protesters.”
A court striking down an illegal order after months, maybe years of court processes does change that the victims are put under immense pressure, blocked from pursuing an education or work while in Limbo, unable to travel and on top of that have high legal costs to upfront.
Meanwhile the perpetraitors on the government side face no repercussions even if the courts strike down the order.
It is an effective extrajudicial punishment and the victims can loose years of their life.
Also due process in Germany evaporates into a barely visible steam when it comes to police violence, where even brutal attacks by police officers rarely yield a sentence that would prevent them from continuing working as police.