EKM plans to outsource church asylum in the event of a possible AfD change of government

In view of the AfD's possible takeover of government in Saxony-Anhalt, the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) apparently wants to outsource church asylum to other federal states. “We will rather outsource these instruments because it is clearly the case that the day after tomorrow the police will be at the door and they will be picked up,” said regional bishop Friedrich Kramer to the media portal Focus Thuringia.

The process is already underway. Regional Bishop Kramer did not want to give details because the topic was “highly sensitive”. It's about protecting people, both in the communities and the asylum seekers, said Kramer. Church asylum is not a legally protected space, but a space of humanity and an informal agreement.

Churches provide accommodation in cases of humanitarian hardship

Church asylum means that a person who is threatened with deportation, for example, receives temporary protection in a church. Municipalities grant asylum seekers accommodation in cases where they recognize humanitarian hardship and lobby the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to have their case re-examined.