Press release: Alliance demands clarification on the planning status of the deportation prison in Düsseldorf. NRW state government remains intransparent.

“We continue to try to bring transparency into the state government’s plans for the construction of a deportation prison in Düsseldorf,” Britta Rabe of the alliance Prevent deportation prison – in Düsseldorf and elsewhere expressed. “But since the black-green coalition came into power six months ago, there has been no information at all.” State government and deputies asked by the alliance are stonewalling. Also a request over the freedom of information platform FragDenStaat was rejected by the Ministry for flight and integration. Hence, lawyer Marcel Keienborg, specialised in migration law and member of the republican lawyer association (RAV e.V.), is taking the issue to court for the alliance.

The fact that no decision has yet been made by the state government can be doubted when looking at the draft budget of the state of NRW for the year 2023. This is because funds for the deportation prison in Düsseldorf, which was already planned by the previous government, are still included there and have been continued and even increased for the year 2023. More than EUR 5.4 million is budgeted there for the costs of a so-called ‘accommodation facility for people who are obliged to leave the country’, including more than EUR 4.1 million in rental costs alone. Only a blocking notice indicates that the funds are still being withheld, but meticulously calculated. The state parliament will vote on the 2023 state budget on December 20, 2022.

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No deportation prison in Düsseldorf or elsewhere – right to stay instead of deportation

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is planning another deportation prison, in addition to the largest in Germany in Büren with 175 detention places. The planned new building with 25 places will serve as a so-called “Ausreisegewahrsam” (detention for up to 10 days) and will complement the deportation prison in Büren. The goal of the NRW state government and the federal government is to deport more and more efficiently. A prison in direct proximity to Germany’s second largest deportation airport in Düsseldorf is intended to facilitate this. So far, there is hardly any public discussion about this or even questioning of the deportation policy.

Continue reading “No deportation prison in Düsseldorf or elsewhere – right to stay instead of deportation”