Chancellor Merkel backs tougher laws on migrants after sex attacks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a crackdown on convicted refugees after a wave of sex assaults and muggings on New Year’s Eve were blamed largely on foreigners. The reports of attacks on women in Cologne by gangs of men described by police as mostly of “Arab or North African” origin has ramped up pressure for stricter measures in Germany, which took nearly 1.1 million migrants last year. Some 121 women are reported to have been robbed, threatened or sexually assaulted during New Year’s celebrations near the city’s twin-spired Gothic cathedral.

If a refugee flouts the rules, then there must be consequences, that means that they can lose their residence right here regardless of whether they have a suspended sentence or a prison sentence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a meeting of the Christian Democrats

Under current laws, asylum seekers are only deported if they have been sentenced to jail terms of at least three years, and if their lives are not at risk in their countries of origin. As well as reducing the deportation threshold, the proposal put forward by Mrs Merkel’s party would also strengthen the ability of police to conduct checks of identity papers. The move comes as supporters of the far-right group PEGIDA are staging a rally in Cologne in response to the attacks. The city’s chief of police was sacked for his handling of the incidents amid claims officers covered up the involvement of large groups of migrants.

Serial offenders who consistently, for example, return to theft or time and again insult women must count on the force of the law. This is in the interests of the citizens of Germany, but also in the interests of the great majority of the refugees who are here.

Chancellor Merkel

Politics merkel