Germany has deported nearly 17,700 people so far this year, with most sent to Turkey, marking a nearly 20 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to German media reports citing government data released in response to a parliamentary question, Turkish Minute reported.
Between January and September 17,651 people were deported from Germany, up from 14,706 in the same period last year, the figures showed. The highest number of deportations, 1,614, were to Turkey, followed by 1,379 to Georgia. Around one in five deportees were children or young people.
The data were provided by the federal government in response to a question from the Left Party (Die Linke) in the German parliament. Clara Bünger, the party’s domestic policy spokesperson, criticized the increase, accusing the government of having “almost no limits anymore when it comes to raising deportation numbers.”
Bünger questioned the decision to send people back to countries such as Turkey, which she said “persecutes leftists, Kurds and opposition figures.”
The government’s plan to speed up deportations is part of its broader migration policy reform. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also announced that Germany is preparing to resume regular deportations of Afghan nationals convicted of crimes, through an agreement being negotiated with the Taliban authorities in Kabul, a move that has already sparked controversy due to human rights concerns.
