Tensions surface in German coalition over asylum-seeker ruling

Tensions are surfacing within Germany's conservative-led coalition government over migration, after a court ruling last week appeared to prohibit rejecting asylum seekers at the country's borders.
The Berlin Administrative Court ruled on Monday that the summary rejection of three Somalis during a check on the border with Poland was unlawful.
The urgent ruling meant that "there can no longer be blanket rejections because the courts will stop them," said Matthias Miersch, head of the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats (SPD), which is the junior member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition.
Without clarification as to which EU state is responsible for the asylum application of those affected, they should not be turned away, according to the ruling. The court also said the government lacked evidence for its argument that it could reject asylum seekers on the grounds of public safety.
The three Somalis are now back in Berlin.
Miersch told the weekend edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that the court's decision raised fundamental questions that the government should address.
"The chancellor also stated this very clearly when he said that the practice must be reviewed again in light of this court decision," said Miersch.
"And I expect this to happen now," he said, pointing to the possibility otherwise of more legal problems in the near future.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt introduced the more intensive border controls on May 7. He defended the policy again on Saturday, in remarks to the Funke media group of newspapers.
"This is an individual judgement," said Dobrindt, referring to the court ruling. "We will provide sufficient justification, but the European Court of Justice should decide on this."
The head of the Berlin Administrative Court, Erna Viktoria Xalter, said however that this would not prove successful. Speaking to news portal Zeit Online, she said: "How is this supposed to go through to the ECJ? The urgent decision is incontestable."
Merz, who belongs to the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), recently said he would continue to refuse asylum seekers at the border even after the administrative court ruling.

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