Yesterday, members of the German parliament (Bundestag) voted on two motions (Anträge) to implement stricter immigration laws. Some are calling the vote a historical turning point. Why was it so significant? We explain.

What happened yesterday in the German Bundestag?

On the afternoon of January 29, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz brought two motions to the Bundestag floor.

The motions propose that Germany impose stricter laws around immigration and domestic security. After hours of debating on the Bundestag floor, the motions were put to a vote and narrowly passed.

What exactly is written in Merz’s motion?

Merz’s motions suggest that Germany tighten immigration law according to a five-point plan. The first is that Germany would introduce permanent controls at its borders with all neighbouring countries. 

The second point is a ban on anyone entering Germany without a valid travel document, regardless of whether they are seeking asylum or not, on the basis that neighbouring European countries are safe for asylum seekers, so they should not continue travelling onwards to Germany.

The third point is detaining people “who are obliged to leave the country” and awaiting deportation. If necessary, people should be detained in army barracks or containers while awaiting deportation. Deportations should “take place every day”, including to Afghanistan and Syria.

The fourth point is that the federal government should support federal states in enforcing deportations. Federal police would be allowed to apply for arrest warrants to detain someone who is going to be deported.

The fifth and final point is that people who have a criminal record or are considered “dangerous” and are required to leave Germany should remain in a detention centre indefinitely until they voluntarily leave Germany or they can be deported.

Brandmauer: Why was the vote so significant?

Merz announced he would bring his motion to the Bundestag in the wake of a terrorist attack in Achaffenburg, Bavaria. A 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker is suspected of having stabbed two people in a park, including a two-year-old child who died from his wounds. This attack sparked another immigration debate in Germany and motivated Merz to submit his motion. 

However, the main reason that everyone has been talking about Merz’s five-point motion is because in the days before he brought it to the Bundestag floor, the conservative politician said he was willing to vote with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to get it passed.

The AfD has strong ties to neo-Nazi groups, has voiced plans to “remigrate” German citizens and residents with a recent migrant background (over 25 percent of the national population) and is currently being considered by the German high court to determine whether its policies are compatible with the German constitution and democratic law.

Merz’s decision shifted the Overton window on mainstream parties cooperating with the AfD. Germany’s democratic parties have a long-standing agreement that they will not cooperate with extremist parties, colloquially known as the “firewall” (Brandmauer).

The Brandmauer has four principles. It encourages mainstream parties never to form coalitions with extremist parties at the municipal, state or federal level, never jointly submit proposals or bills in the German parliament, never cast votes that would indirectly benefit extremist parties and never negotiate or compromise with such parties.

Merz’s motion also criticised the AfD, claiming the party was “using the problems, worries and fears caused by mass illegal migration to stir up xenophobia and spread conspiracy theories". But this didn’t dissuade AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel from hailing Merz’s decision to vote together as a sign that the “Brandmauer has fallen”. 

Who voted in favour of the immigration crackdown and is the motion legally binding?

Members of the Bundestag narrowly passed Merz’s motion, with 348 voting in favour, 345 voting against and 10 abstaining.

Most votes in favour came from the CDU, AfD and Free Democratic Party (FDP). Votes against came from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the Left Party and most abstentions came from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

So what will happen now that the motion has passed? Crucially, this is a motion, not a law. In the German democratic system, politicians can bring a motion to the Bundestag floor. 

If the motion passes, the German government should actively consider suggestions which have been put forward, but that is all. The motion is not legally binding.

This isn’t the only hurdle for Merz’s proposed policies. Many have pointed out that parts of the five-point plan may not be compatible with international and EU asylum law.

So if the motion isn’t legally binding, what happens now?

Since the German government collapsed in November, Olaf Scholz has been running an SPD-Green minority government. But on February 23, 2025, Germans will head to the polls and the CDU is widely expected to win.

The conservative party is polling at 30 percent, the AfD with 21 percent, the SPD with 15 percent and the Greens with 13 percent.

This means the CDU will have to form a coalition government. Because of the Brandmauer, the party are broadly expected to form a coalition with the SPD. This would give the CDU the upper hand and more power to pass stricter immigration and citizenship laws if they decide to accept the support of the AfD again.

Responding to Merz’s motion passing in the Bundestag outgoing chancellor Scholz said, “The consensus that democratic parties do not cooperate with the extreme right was broken today. [...] This is a serious mistake - an unforgivable mistake”. 

Scholz warned that Merz could no longer be trusted to rule out a coalition with the AfD when he is likely to be elected on February 23, adding that his goal is now “to prevent a majority of CDU and AfD at all costs”. 

All in all, Merz’s motion passing has set a tone for what is likely to be the incoming German government’s approach to migration politics. How draconian the new policies will be depends on what is written up in the coalition agreement and how much power Merz lends to the SPD or AfD.

For now, changes to residence permits and proposals to reverse Germany’s new dual citizenship law have stayed off the Bundestag floor. But the CDU has said that if elected, it will increase the financial requirements for a residence permit, increase the residence period required for German citizenship eligibility, scrap the right to dual citizenship for non-EU nationals and increase the instances when German citizenship can be revoked.

Thumb image credit: Margarita Kosareva / Shutterstock.com