Germans Start to Reconsider Merkel’s Open Border Policies
On the heels of the fourth deadly terror attack in Germany in four days, experts, officials and politicians are thinking twice about the consequences of Angela Merkel’s de facto open border policies.
Three of the attacks were carried out by migrants from Afghanistan and Syria, and a fourth by a teen who was the son of Iranian migrants. Politicians and pundits are now springing into action, calling for better vetting processes, stronger deportation orders, more police forces and measures to prevent radicalization, reports The Washington Post.
Officials are “growing alarmed” in particular about the threat of self-radicalization or easy recruitment of young migrants, who the United Nations has found are predominantly adult men.
“I am absolutely pro-Syrian [migrants], but the German government has underestimated the problem,” German terror expert Guido Steinberg told The Washington Post. “The [asylum seekers] are traumatized, they are brutalized, and they react in ways that have become totally alien to our country.”
When Germans opened their arms to refugees last year, videos of the welcome went viral and Merkel met with universal praise among western media and pundits. But Germans are now wondering why there isn’t a better plan in place to deal with the economic and security consequences of the decision. The sheer number of migrants has created a vetting backlog, and in reality it’s impossible to really vet many of them.
Some of these migrants pose “a considerable danger for internal security,” German member of Parliament Wolfgang Bosbach said Monday, according to WaPo.
Merkel herself has acknowledged her policies brought terrorists into Europe. “In part, the refugee flow was even used to smuggle terrorists,” she said at a campaign rally in July.
Nevertheless, many of the same voices demanding Europe open its doors to the refugees remain committed to their cause. Even after these recent brutal attacks committed by migrants, advocacy groups are warning about the threat of violence toward refugees, and saying anything other than welcoming the migrants with open arms is a win for the Islamic State.
Send tips to rachel@
Copyright 2016 Daily Caller News Foundation
