At the service of integration

“The reform of the law on immigration must really improve the situation of those whose presence has been tolerated for many years”, declared the representative of the Council of the German Evangelical Church (EKD), STEPHAN REIMERS, and the director of the Commissariat of the German bishops in Berlin, Msgr. KARL JÜSTEN , commenting on the negotiations in progress on the regularization of the right to residence in the country. Speaking at a press conference in the German capital in recent days, Reimers and Jüsten openly criticised the curbs on the right of immigration that the proposed reform would entail. The position of the German Churches was outlined in a recent joint communiqué. IMPROVING THE SITUATION OF IMMIGRANTS . The Churches “expressly support the intention to ensure that the first recognition of right to residence be not necessarily conditional on the exercise of a professional activity. It is to be hoped that the recognition of a residence permit up till 2009 and unlimited access to the labour market will be translated into an effective improvement for the persons involved”, says the document. A “human and socially fair” regularization of the right of residence is also urged; it should “favour and not hamper the social and economic integration of those persons who have so far been tolerated [but not regularized]”, said Reimers, who said he was in favour of right of residence being granted even in the case of a person not being able to provide for his/her own support, especially “elderly persons, invalids and those in need of assistance”. THE FAMILY IS PARAMOUNT. The Churches emphasised, as a priority, the need to take account of the well-being of children: “young people who have grown up in Germany, and have become well integrated here, must be recognized the right to autonomous residence”, which “cannot in any case be conditional on a prior expatriation of their parents”. Moreover, “misconduct on the part of individual members of a family cannot cause the exclusion of the whole family from right to residence”, says the communiqué. Reimers and Jüsten expressed “serious doubts” about the option of excluding persons of particular nationalities, e.g. Iraqis, from the right to permanent residence. “In view of the crisis in Iraq, which also involves many Christians, everything must be done to help refugees from that country”, declared Jüsten. The representatives of the Churches also expressed “misgivings” about the restrictions envisaged in the bill currently under discussion, particularly as regard family reunification. Reimers and Jüsten thus declare: “in particular, the requirement that the spouse who wishes to join her family ought to possess sufficient knowledge of the language even before entering Germany must be rejected”. It’s a condition that few, in their view, would be able to satisfy, “given the situations in their own countries of origin. In such cases, too, the protection of marriage and the family must be paramount”. CONFORMING TO EU STANDARDS . Reimers judged “deplorable the fact that the current bill represents an attitude of rejection of the minimum standards prescribed by the EU in terms of the protection of refugees. From the Churches’ point of view, it is particularly important to realize in full the EU objectives aimed at the better protection of refugees persecuted for religious reasons”, he added. “The same goes for the protection from expulsion for those refugees from countries in which there are civil wars. A limitation clause, according to which refugees from civil wars would be accepted only if the Ministers of the Interior of the Länder have powers to stop expulsions, raises fears of a significant erosion of protection and is more especially incompatible with the provisions of EU law”, pointed out Reimers. For his part, Jüsten expressed the fear that “with the modification of the law currently under discussion, the positive goals of the law on immigration and the efforts made at the level of national integration would be partially thwarted. A policy for integration can only be said to be successful if it understands immigration and integration as opportunities for our society. It cannot be characterized by the request for sanctions or even lumbered with aspects pertaining to security policy”, he concluded.