SPD politician calls for more commitment to refugees

SPD politician Frank Richter has called on the immigration authorities to show more commitment to the interests of migrants. The Ministry of the Interior, as the supervisory authority, must do more to encourage the authorities to use the available leeway in the interests of those affected, Richter said in Dresden on Sunday. "Saxony as a whole needs a more people-, society- and business-friendly approach to the foreigners living here." The Saxon immigration authorities should build bridges to the labor market. "Instead, they are preventing or making it more difficult for asylum seekers to take up employment."

According to Richter, industries such as construction, catering, care and cleaning companies are not only looking for highly qualified workers. They are also desperately looking for low-skilled and unskilled workers. Saxony by no means only has a shortage of skilled workers. "There is a labor shortage in the state." Integrated asylum seekers, families with children, job seekers or those already in work should be exempt from costly deportations. It is unreasonable to keep them in uncertainty for years. Employers also need security.

"Countless asylum seekers are being supported at the taxpayer's expense, even though they could be working, even though they could be paying taxes instead of receiving welfare benefits. Countless employers despair because of bureaucratic hurdles that make it difficult or impossible to employ people seeking protection, said the politician.

Richter backed up his claims with examples from practice. He quoted, among others, the building contractor Maik Linke from Elsterberg in Vogtland: "Essentially, it's about giving refugees and their employers legal certainty and thus investment security, so that refugees who pursue work subject to social insurance contributions are not deported, even if their asylum application is rejected."