Coesfelder List: NRW municipalities rejected deportation assistance

The so-called “Coesfelder List” affects not only the city of Cologne, but a total of 73 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Central Foreigners Authority (ZAB) Coesfeld had provided their immigration authorities with lists of migrants from Western Balkan states. As a state government paper shows, only four municipalities accepted the help offered with deportation preparations.

In the response from the Refugee Ministry to a small inquiry from the FDP it is stated that 18 immigration authorities did not respond to the email from Coesfeld. In two cases it is unclear whether the email with the respective list even arrived. “The other immigration authorities contacted stated that they did not need the offer of support or that they would process the relevant procedures independently,” says the as yet unpublished paper that is available to the dpa.

The city of Cologne also wanted to take care of things themselves. According to her own information, she received a list of 471 names for whom the Coesfeld authority had offered help in obtaining replacement passport papers. However, the administration rejected this support to prepare for deportations. Research by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” revealed that there were numerous criminals on the list.