German Court Restricts Police Powers in Refugee Deportation Raids
KARLSRUHE, Germany – In a landmark decision strengthening the privacy rights of asylum seekers, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that police cannot enter the homes or shelters of refugees to carry out deportations without first obtaining a specific judicial warrant.
The ruling stems from a 2019 case in Berlin, where police officers attempted to deport a Guinean asylum seeker under the EU’s Dublin Regulation. According to court documents, when the man did not open the door to his room in a refugee shelter, officers broke it down to gain entry. During the operation, they also seized the man’s wallet and mobile phone to gather information for his case, all without a court-ordered warrant.
The asylum seeker, with legal support from the German Society for Civil Rights (GFF) and the refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl, challenged the police’s actions as unconstitutional.
Germany’s top court has now agreed. The judges ruled that the raid violated the fundamental right to the inviolability of one’s home, as guaranteed by the German constitution. The decision confirms that the privacy protections afforded to all residents extend to refugees living in shelters, and that police must secure a warrant from a judge before forcing entry for deportation purposes.
This ruling sets a clear legal boundary for future deportation operations, emphasizing that the state’s interest in enforcing deportation orders must be balanced against the core constitutional rights of individuals.
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