Germany’s Border Control Can’t Reject Asylum Seekers, Court Rules

The ruling undercuts Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s immigration stance by blocking the border turnbacks he had ordered on day one of his government.
Germany’s Border Control Can’t Reject Asylum Seekers, Court Rules
German federal police officers control cars at the A3 motorway at a border control station between Emmerich, Germany, and Arnhem, the Netherlands, on May 8, 2025. Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images
Owen Evans
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A Berlin court ruled on June 2 that turning back asylum seekers at Germany’s borders is unlawful, dealing a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative-led coalition, which has vowed to impose border controls.

The court ruled in favor of three unnamed Somali applicants—two men and one woman—who were sent back to Poland from a train station in the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder, on Germany’s border, on the grounds that they had attempted to enter from a safe third country, according to a court statement.

Owen Evans
Owen Evans
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories, with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech.