A decade ago this month, Germany opened its borders to more than 1 million migrants, mainly Syrians, as well as Afghans and Iraqis. Many were fleeing brutal civil wars.
At the time, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared, “Wir schaffen das!” – We can manage this! And the challenging task of integrating refugees began.
But the country’s welcome mat soon wore thin. And that was even before the unexpected flow of another 1.25 million refugees from Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Now, like much of Europe, Germany is tightening border controls, turning away many migrants, encouraging many to return home, and deporting those in the country illegally or with criminal records. German politics has been upended by the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment.
“We clearly did not cope” with the issue, current Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said. But he has also acknowledged an inescapable fact: “Germany is a country of immigration,” he said in May. Migrants made up 20.9% of the population last year compared with 13.4% in 2015.
Ordinary Germans recognize this new reality: Citing costs and cultural differences, 68% of citizens want fewer refugees. But 63% agree that immigration is important for the economy. Germany faces labor shortages across 163 occupations. In 2024, there were more than 5,750 Syrian doctors working in the country.
The challenge for Europe’s largest economy is how to stem illegal migration and better integrate legal immigrants – while staying true to its democratic principles. This might require a shift in perspectives and a focus on available data and facts.
As labor researcher Herbert Brücker told Bloomberg recently, “The glass is more half full than half empty” when it comes to refugees’ role in the economy. For refugees who arrived between 2013 and 2019, 68% were employed eight years after arrival.. As more find work, they reduce the strain on the welfare state.
They also contribute as employers and community leaders. For example, Diar Khal, who arrived in 2014 as a teenager, now speaks German fluently and employs 15 people at his tech firm in Mannheim. Ryyan Alshebl, who fled Syria as a 21-year-old, was elected mayor of Ostelsheim in 2023. “It’s a liberal country,” he told Reuters. “Whoever is ready to do something here can get the opportunity to do so.”
Shortly before leaving office this spring, Germany’s former interior minister stressed the importance of debating migration “without resentment and with awareness that we are talking about human beings.”
Calling for “more respect” for the millions of residents from immigrant backgrounds, she reminded Germany, “We are one country, we are [one] society, and we belong together.”
