"We are seen as the only trustworthy party when we say we want to restrict immigration to Germany … What we don't want is this radical Islamism that we see here in Hamburg, that we often see on the streets, where people demand an Islamic state. We reject that,” Dirk Nockemann, AfD candidate for the German parliament (Bundestag) in Hamburg, said on Sunday.
The German parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on February 23. The previous vote was held in 2021.
Nockemann stressed the fact that they don't want a "religious state," a demand of some Muslim communities in the country, and want to rather uphold Germany’s democracy and secular nature.
He said he values Hamburg’s cultural diversity but noted that it must be accompanied by “limits,” mentioning how Germany has been an easy country for accepting asylum-seekers but that it must be restricted.
“Criminals can enter, Islamists can enter. This must be rejected. So control who comes in. Those who don't have the right to stay, as I explained earlier in my speech, must leave the country because they are criminals,” he stressed.
But he admitted that expelling immigrants would be impossible due to their large numbers, and since they have filled key sectors of the country, a crisis would ensue if such a measure was taken.
Nockemann stressed that the immigrants that their countries of origin refuse to take back should be sent back.
"If you don't take back your people, there will no longer be economic conditions, no more economic relations," he warned.
The AfD last year called for "remigration," which led to weeks of widespread protests, as the country hosts 19 million immigrants, who make up 23% of the population.
With the AfD likely to gain more votes and increase its influence, this issue is causing concern among many immigrants.
