Abstract Germany’s migration policy is shaped by a basic public openness to migration, combined with strong expectations that the state regain operational control. The paper argues that over-promising in political communication – especially on deportations and “quick fixes” – has amplified distrust. Legal, administrative, and European case law set clear constraints, making such promises difficult to deliver. The strategic core is therefore a sober dual objective: reduce irregular migration as far as possible while expanding well-managed labour and education migration. A key message is that achieving these goals has no single “silver bullet.” The text cautions against miracle solutions and instead emphasizes that progress depends on the consistent, coordinated pursuit of many measures at once – legal, administrative, operational, and diplomatic – over an extended period. Domestically, the central diagnosis is not a lack of rules but weak implementation capacity: fragmented responsibilities (hundreds of local foreigners’ authorities), staff shortages, heterogeneous IT, poor inter-agency interfaces, and overloaded courts create long processing times – slowing skilled immigration and hampering returns. The paper therefore points to reforms such as consolidation and professionalization, nationwide IT standards and end-to-end digital procedures (“once-only” data), clearer federal roles for removals, and court specialization and digitalization. At EU level, it situates these efforts within the GEAS reform and discusses external partnerships, “return hubs,” and migration diplomacy as potentially useful – but legally and politically complex – tools that require reliable partners and safeguards. Finally, the paper stresses that the agenda should not focus solely on irregular migration. It highlights the importance of simplifying skilled immigration, arguing that without it Germany risks losing competitiveness in light of demographic change.
Joachim Stamp (Tue,) studied this question.