After five consecutive years of continuous increases, the number of deportations from Germany has fallen for the first time in the first quarter of 2026. A total of 4,807 people were forcibly required to leave the country during the first three months of this year, as reported by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (noz, Thursday edition) citing a response from the federal government to a parliamentary inquiry by the Left party's parliamentary group.
This represents a decrease of 1,344 compared to the same period last year, when 6,151 people were deported.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the primary destination countries for deportations in the first quarter of 2026 were Turkey (601), Georgia (266), North Macedonia (230), Spain (192), as well as Morocco and Algeria (both 178). Three people were deported to Syria, and there were also three deportations to Iran.
During the first quarter, 27 people were deported to Afghanistan. Among those affected were hundreds of children up to 13 years old (547) and adolescents between 14 and 17 years old (146). Senior citizens were also affected (99 people over 60 years old, seven over 71 years old).
Clara Bünger, the Left party's spokesperson on refugee policy, told noz that it was particularly alarming that the federal and state governments continued to deport people to Iran even in the first quarter of this year. In light of the repression by the Tehran regime and the "violation of international law by Israel and the USA," an immediate deportation stop to Iran is urgently needed.
"It is fundamentally wrong to force deportations, as the current federal government is doing together with the states," Bünger emphasized. Instead, Germany needs "an effective right-to-remain regulation that opens up a secure perspective for people." Spain is setting a good example in this regard.
The Spanish government recently announced plans to legalize the residency status of around 500,000 migrants who have been living in the country without valid documents.
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