Mackenroth: Payment card and new job opportunities make sense

Geert Mackenroth (CDU), Saxony's Commissioner for Foreigners, welcomes the introduction of the payment card for refugees and the new possibilities for offering work opportunities. "The current legal adjustment expands the existing work opportunities. I think that's basically right," he said in a statement on Wednesday. The "Heim-TÜV" study, which is being carried out on behalf of the Saxon Commissioner for Foreigners, has shown that work opportunities are important for asylum seekers in order to keep them occupied and structure their everyday lives. However, the demand exceeds the current supply. "The new regulation can remedy this and at the same time create added value for the municipalities."

An amendment to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act has expanded the possibilities for offering work opportunities for refugees. The law already provided for this in the past. However, the prerequisite was that the work involved could not be performed by others. This regulation has been amended: Asylum seekers can now also take on regular jobs.

Mackenroth is also positive about the payment card for asylum seekers, which is intended to replace the previous issue of cash: "The introduction of the payment card could also be a good approach and sometimes even relieve local authorities of administrative activities." In Saxony, a pilot project for the gradual introduction of the card will start in April. According to the Saxon Ministry of the Interior, money transfers and card use abroad will not be possible.

Criticism has come from the left-wing parliamentary group in the state parliament. Juliane Nagel, the parliamentary group's spokesperson on asylum policy, said that the debate about providing refugees with cash was deliberately stirring up anti-migration sentiment. "A payment card can be useful to save local authorities the effort and cost of paying out cash. However, if it is used to restrict the payment and shopping options of refugees, it becomes an instrument of control and disenfranchisement." The card would not foreseeably lead to fewer people fleeing to Germany.