Discussions on Immigration Harbored Change

The "Immigration Law," which was passed after months of heated debates at the Germany Federal and State Assemblies, will take effect in January 2003. The new "Immigration Law" was the topic of discussion at the "Immigration and Multi-Cultures in Germany and Europe" symposium in Istanbul. Many representatives from Europe were present at the conference.

During the conference organized by the Heinrich Boll Foundation, the attendants discussed many topics related to the new law.

Some of these topics were, immigration of qualified foreign workers, compulsory language and integration courses for the immigrants, and lowering the age limit of children who are allowed to follow their parents as immigrants from 16 to 12, to ensure that they are better able to integrate into German society.

Among the speakers present at the symposium were Emine Demirbuken, who is the deputy candidate from the opposition party, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and the Berlin Tempelhof-Schoneberg official responsible for foreign immigrants, and Ozcan Mutlu, who is the Berlin State Parliament deputy from the governing coalition party, the Greens.

Emine Demirbuken and Ozcan Mutlu answered Bianet's questions on the ruling and opposition parties' viewpoints on the new Immigration Law.

Mutlu, confessed that putting the Immigration Law on the agenda right before the general elections, which will be held in September 2002, was unfortunate on their side.

According to Mutlu, "before criticizing it, the immigrants should accept that this law is an important step, and that these gradual regulations will result in advantageous decisions for the immigrants."

"They should work towards this law," said Mutlu.

Demirbuken, stated that, although the Christian Democratic Union was late in questioning the issue of immigration, this change in the stance of the party should be supported.

In their evaluations in various media, the immigrants from Turkey, who are a side in the discussions in Germany, claim that the articles of the law about accepting highly skilled workers will benefit the employers who are seeking to "employ cheap qualified labor." The immigrants argue that the new Immigration Law will not change much for the immigrants.

The Country that Accepts Immigrants

Here are our questions to the two members of the parliament, and their answers...

Bianet: What does the Immigration Law mean for Germany? What was the reason for passing a new immigration law aimed at attracting highly qualified workers to Germany?

E. Demirbuken: The Immigration Law has two important dimensions to it. First of all, the state is feeling responsible for the immigrants in the country and coming up with policies addressing immigration. Secondly, with the new Immigration Law, the old foreign workers' law was removed. However, some articles of the new Immigration Law do not comply with what the immigrants are going through.

There are rumors about Germany opening its doors to immigrants. However, Germany's doors were never fully open to foreign workers. That is only what the German society falsely believes in. This new Immigration Law specifies who can and cannot immigrate to Germany.

But, because people do not fully know the details of the law, these false viewpoints are formed within the society. The classic immigration countries regulate the immigration process depending on their economic needs. Although the immigrants view this as an inhumane rule, the countries that accept immigrants consider their own interests first.

O. Mutlu: The law of course, was not passed as a perfect law. But in spite of this, with this law, it was accepted both politically and legally for the first time, that Germany is an immigration country. And through this acceptance, a movement began for the social acceptance of the immigrants. All classic immigration countries accept foreign workers depending on their economic needs.

In a country where four million people are unemployed, we cannot accept more immigrants and worsen unemployment. Those who are against a culturally diverse community will criticize accepting foreign workers, and say, "Damn foreigners take all the jobs in our country." But in a country confronted with the problems of an aging population, and a shortage in high tech skilled workers due to the gaps in the education system, the conservatives too have realized the need for foreign workers.

"Rightists do not Want Integration"

Bianet: With this new law, the language and integration courses will be compulsory for the immigrants. The governing and opposition parties seem to have agreed on these articles...

E. Demirbuken: This new law is a very important step and a big reform for Germany. But more work has to be done on it. Germany does not have an immigration history like the other countries. All through its history, Germany was always able to dissolve its immigrants. But the immigrants do not want to gather in "ghettos" any more. They are spending effort against the immigrant "ghettos."

We are talking about an integration period of a maximum of 20 years. This is a very short period of time for reaching a point that makes both communities happy. To accelerate the integration period, the immigrants should learn the language and culture of this country. Knowing the language was compulsory in order to get a German citizenship before too. But in cities like Berlin, people were being flexible.

First-generation immigrants who seek citizenship may not pass the language test. This would be a big betrayal to their labor.

O. Mutlu: Because there were no integration courses for the immigrants up to today, the various communities who lived together had been isolated from each other. There still are kids in Germany, who are third-generation immigrants and who cannot speak German. The immigrants from Turkey should question themselves too. The problem of language is presenting many difficulties in the process of integration. Multi-culturism should be taught in schools, and be an important part of the education the teachers receive.

The German society can only regard immigrants positively, through education. Although we may not be able to reach elderly Germans and Turks, the integration of the new generation can be accelerated through education. However the right-wingers and the conservatives do not want the immigrants, especially the ones from Turkey, to integrate into the German society in the long run. Germany should always be able to accuse the Turks every time there is a social or economic problem in the country and say, "They do not integrate and they do not work." Because this is what the voters of the conservatives want to hear.

The Age and Social Integration of the Children

Bianet: The age limit of children, who will be allowed to follow their parents as immigrants, was a hot topic of discussion between the parties. There were intense debates on whether the age limit should be 12 or 18-years. The immigrants protested in many cities saying, "I am 14 years-old, and I can learn a new language." What were these debates based on?

E. Demirbuken: This new law brought on the agenda certain limitations, which are present in classic immigration countries. The Christian Democratic Union suggested a low age limit for the children who would be allowed to follow their parents as immigrants. We believe that the younger the kids are who follow their parents as immigrants, the easier will their integration be into the German society.

O. Mutlu: The opposition parties used the 12-years age limit as a political weapon and an artificial topic of discussion. The whole debate was about a maximum of seven thousand children, who are between the ages of 12 and 18. The Greens were always supporting the 18-year limit.

Rightists Signed Petitions against Dual-Nationality

Bianet: With this new law, came articles that regulate the citizenship of the immigrants. As the Greens were criticized for compromising, some members of the opposition parties opposed dual-nationality. Does the current law have shortcomings in terms of citizenship rights?

E. Demirbuken: During the Kohl government, having dual-citizenship was possible through applying the rules differently. It was a secret, as well as a known reality. The new law enables children of immigrant parents born in Germany, to maintain dual citizenship until they are 23-years old. However, under the law, an 18-year old immigrant child must decide on his permanent citizenship by the time he is 23-years old. If he doesn't make a decision, his German citizenship will be taken away.

This is against the constitution. Dual-nationality is a problem, which seems to have been solved at the moment. Some members from the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party are opposing dual-nationality. When the Berlin wall was knocked down, the people experienced the excitement of reuniting. However, the walls in people's heads are still very high.

If you bring a community under a cold shower before you prepare them for certain laws, the reaction you get will always be very severe. Considering the potential votes, a wing of the Social Democratic Party and a large wing of the Christian Democratic Union opposed dual-nationality during the voting for the immigration law.

O. Mutlu: The Greens advocates that the children born in Germany should automatically have the right for dual-nationality. However, because of the political and social conjunctures in Germany, our argument was not accepted. In their campaign against dual-nationality, the rightists were able to gather 5 million signatures within 3 months.

Because of these reactions, the Social Democratic Party was convinced that passing the law would lead to undesirable political consequences. This is because the Social Democratic Party has a wide reach, from liberals to leftists. A second draft about the nationality issue was prepared, and this time included certain limitations. The political parties will make certain promises to immigrant children who were born in Germany, and who will become voters when they are 18 years-old. The parties considered this as the law was being passed.

Immigration Discussions during the Election Period

Bianet: Discussing this law during the election period was subject to criticism by the public. As the immigration law was being debated over, a new draft was presented to the parliament. And this draft suggested going to referendums in such instances. Were hasty decisions made because of the elections, on a topic as important as immigration?

E. Demirbuken: Human psychology changes during the election periods. The Interior Minister Otto Schily, is a social democrat who says during his election campaign, "The children of the immigrants who commit crimes should be deported from this country." There are certain movements within the governing and opposition parties.

And everybody spends a lot of effort to turn their opinions into pluralist opinions. The Christian Democratic Union was late in making a move about the issue of immigration. You would never hear from the Christian Democratic Union say three years ago, that Germany is an immigration country. The opening up of the party should not be regarded as strange. Although these are not opinions adopted by the majority of the party members, this is only a beginning and it should be supported.

The mission of the opposition parties is to criticize the government. However, considering the interests of the German society, all the political parties should be in accordance about this issue. The discussions will not be very healthy during the elections period. But we have to act more sensibly about the issue of immigration. My mission is to work strategically in the long-run to ensure this rationale within my party.

O. Mutlu: To be able to talk more openly about this law, first, we need to experience with it. We will see the law's shortcomings after it takes effect. We can make the necessary changes if we see that some criteria like the scoring system are inhibiting.

But before the Greens are criticized for compromising about the law, people should think about the number of our members of the parliament. The articles that grant the immigrants the right of citizenship and equal opportunities in many other fields are present in the party program of the Greens.

But for us to be able to put these into practice, we first need to be the majority in the parliament. Accepting that the issue of immigration is currently being discussed at the parliament, we need to do what can be done right now. The law is an important step and will become more favorable for the immigrants.

What does the Immigration Law bring?

Some articles of the Immigration Law, which cover the issue of citizenship, state switching to two separate residence permits for foreigners. The two kinds of permits for foreigners will be permanent permits and temporary permits. The highly qualified foreigners will be given permanent residence permits while the other immigrants will be chosen according to the scoring system.

In the scoring system, professional expertise, knowledge of the German language and age will play important roles.

Those who do not know German, and those in Germany less than six years, will be required to participate in integration courses. German language and culture will be taught at the integration courses, which will be financed by the state budget.

Asylum-seekers and refugees will be granted with temporary residence permits for a maximum of three years. At the end of the three years, the state will examine whether or not the conditions that require these residents to remain in Germany still apply.

Additionally, the law will allow foreigners who are fleeing a non-state form of proceeding, like the ones in Algeria or Afghanistan, or women who are under proceedings because of their sexual identities to be granted refugee status in Germany.

The political asylum-seekers and foreign professionals will be granted the right to bring their children under 18 years old along with them to Germany. The age limit of children who are allowed to follow their parents as immigrants was reduced to 16 after heated debates.

However, the children who are older than 12 years old, and whose parents are in Germany, will only be able to join their parents if they prove that they can speak German. (ÖG/FA/EA/NM)