Germany Suspends Family Reunions for Many Migrants

Germany Suspends Family Reunions for Many Migrants
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Germany’s parliament voted Friday to suspend family reunions for many migrants, marking the first step in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s push for stricter migration controls. Lawmakers in the Bundestag backed the measure 444-135, halting reunions for two years for migrants with “subsidiary protection,” a status granted mostly to people fleeing conflict but not qualifying for full asylum.

As of March, over 388,000 people in Germany held this limited protection, many of them Syrians escaping civil war. Since taking office in May, Merz has prioritized tighter migration policies, including stronger border checks. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the move would cut migration by 12,000 people per year and reduce incentives for smugglers. He argued that allowing families to join migrants with limited protection has encouraged more people to attempt the journey.

Opposition lawmakers, however, criticized the bill. Marcel Emmerich of the Greens called it “an attack” on family unity, arguing that integration works best when families stay together. The far-right Alternative for Germany party described the suspension as a small but welcome step toward stricter migration control. Germany has faced migration pressure for years, with asylum applications dropping from 329,120 in 2023 to 229,751 last year and continuing to decline.