Berlin, Sep 19 (EFE).- The authorities of Berlin warned Tuesday that they have run out of places to accommodate more refugees and asylum seekers beyond the approximately 32,000 already housed in public facilities.
According to information from the Social Affairs Administration of the Berlin Senate, reproduced by various local media, the reception quota in the Regional Office for Refugees centers is full.
The same applies to the reception center for asylum seekers in the Reinickendorf district and the reception center for Ukrainians at the former Tegel airport.
While 31,889 places are occupied, technically, 274 were still free as of September 15. Still, these are reserved for a group of asylum seekers who will arrive before the end of the month through a reception program from Lebanon.
Up to the end of August, 10,000 people, mainly from Syria, Turkey, and Afghanistan, had applied for asylum in Berlin since the beginning of the year, some 3,000 more than in the same period in 2022.
These are in addition to some 11,000 Ukrainians who are automatically entitled to a temporary residence permit without being obliged to apply for refugee status.
A task force of the Berlin Social Affairs administration will meet today to find new spaces to house the new arrivals, and Senator Cansel Kiziltepe has already advanced the possibility of erecting tents for this purpose.
In recent months, the number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Germany through the border with Poland has increased. However, the government headed by the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz has refused to introduce systematic border controls.
On the other hand, the German Interior Ministry announced last week that it has discontinued the reception of migrants and asylum seekers from Italy through the European voluntary sharing mechanism.
The reason, according to Berlin, is that Rome refuses to take back those who are Italy’s responsibility under the rule that the first European country to register a potential refugee must process their application.
German municipalities have long complained that they lack the necessary resources to manage the reception and integration of the refugees assigned to them, and those governed by the conservative opposition are demanding a more restrictive migration policy. EFE
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