Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel has accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government of political theater after just 81 Afghan nationals were deported to Kabul, despite over 11,000 Afghans still officially required to leave Germany.
At 8:35 a.m. on Friday, a Qatar Airways Airbus A330-200 took off from Leipzig Airport carrying 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes including theft, drug dealing, and assault.
According to Bild, the flight was quietly organized by the federal government and departed under tight secrecy to avoid disruption by left-wing protesters. Passengers were brought in from multiple deportation centers across Germany.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt declared the operation a success and described it as part of the governing coalition’s shift in migration policy. “There is no right of residence for serious criminals in our country,” he said. Deportations to Afghanistan, he added, must be able to “take place safely” in the future.
But critics were quick to denounce the move as inadequate. AfD co-chair Alice Weidel wrote on X: “Every year again: 81 criminals are deported to Kabul in a show of deportation, while 11,000 other Afghans who are required to leave the country remain there for the time being. And Merz spouts empty phrases at the summer press conference. Migration turnaround? Only with the AfD!”
Alle Jahre wieder: Show-Abschiebung nach Kabul für 81 Kriminelle, elftausend weitere ausreisepflichtige Afghanen bleiben erst mal da. Und Merz drischt leere Phrasen in der Sommerpressekonferenz. Migrationswende? Nur mit der AfD!https://t.co/hJXVzwRzBU
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) July 18, 2025
According to the Central Register of Foreigners, as of June 30, 2025, 11,172 Afghan nationals who are under orders to leave remain in Germany, including 9,462 whose deportations are temporarily suspended. While this is a decline from 29,245 in 2020, critics argue that progress is cosmetic and far too slow.
Further complicating the picture is a recent ruling by the Berlin Administrative Court, which requires the government to uphold its commitments under the federal admission program for Afghans stranded in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The ruling effectively means that those being deported may soon be replaced by others brought in under humanitarian schemes.
In theory, these new arrivals are meant to be thoroughly vetted. In practice, they are not. Reports from earlier this year revealed that only one in eight Afghans who entered Germany through special protection programs — such as those for local staff and human rights activists — were fully vetted by German security authorities prior to arrival. More than 31,000 Afghans, including family members, reportedly entered without full security checks.
“The current procedure, in which, despite the identity not being determined without any doubt, travel ID cards are issued for foreigners, is highly risky and irresponsible,” warned Germany’s federal police union (DPolG) president Heiko Teggatz in an open letter to then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz in March. “Against the background of the currently highly tense security situation in relation to Islamist terrorism, I think such a procedure is unacceptable.”
The deportation ban to Afghanistan had been in place since August 2021, when the Taliban seized power. It was lifted in mid-2024 under then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser when a flight saw 28 criminals and potential threats returned to Kabul.
Friday’s flight marked the first such removal under the Merz administration.
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