Illegal border refusal: three Somali fight in Berlin!

Illegal border refusal: three Somali fight in Berlin!

On June 6, 2025, three Somalier, whose rejection at the German-Polish border was declared illegal, can look forward to processing their asylum request. Those affected have been in the capital Berlin since their arrival and have officially applied for asylum here. The Berlin Administrative Court decided that their rejection was illegal during a check at the Frankfurt (Oder) train station (Oder) on May 9th.

The court's decision is based on the principle that the Dublin procedure must be carried out completely before asylum seekers may be rejected. This regulation should not have been observed in the specific case, since those affected were registered in Poland and not in Germany. The Federal Police had justified their rejection by entering a safe third country, which the court considered insufficient for an exception to the Dublin requirements.

illegal rejection

On May 9, 2025, the three Somalier, two men and a woman, were checked by the federal police and sent back to Poland on the same day. This rejection took place as part of an intensification of the border controls, which Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered on May 7, 2023. He had stipulated that asylum seekers may be rejected at the border under certain conditions. However, measures towards vulnerable groups, such as pregnant and unaccompanied minors, are still prohibited.

The decision of the Administrative Court is the first judicial statement on Dobrindt's new regulations. Critics, which also include the Greens, now demand that Dobrindt withdraw his controversial arrangement and warn of a national solo that is not in harmony with European asylum standards.

background of the decision

The rejection of asylum seekers is a controversial topic in Germany. Dobrindt had authorized the authorities to reject asylum seekers without clarifying responsibilities in other EU countries. This was not allowed before his term, only people without asylum application or those with temporary entry bans could be rejected. The court made it clear that Germany is obliged to carry out the Dublin procedure and that there are no extraordinary circumstances that would justify a deviation.

The union voices from the police show that there is skepticism about the new practice. A spokesman for the Federal Police emphasized that the main proceedings in the case of the Somali could possibly end differently than the urgent procedure, which prohibited the preliminary rejection.

The Berlin arrival centers will continue to try to check the personal details, the state of health and the security issues of the newly arriving asylum seekers in order to correctly determine responsibility for asylum processing. This is of great importance for the further integration and the lawful stay of those affected.

For the three Somalians, the administrative court judgment is now a step in the right direction, since their asylum applications in Berlin must now be checked. The tense regulations that came into force after the appointment of Dobrindt are now based on this judicial decision.

The current developments illustrate the challenges that Germany is about to deal with asylum seekers and raise questions about the integrity of the asylum system in the context of the European guidelines.

Further information can be found at rbb24 , tagesschau.de and Zeit.de .