A spokesperson for Germany’s federal interior ministry told Rudaw’s Znar Shino that 434 people holding Iraqi passports, including those from the Kurdistan Region, have been deported in the past six months.
Of that number, 328 people were sent directly back to Iraq by plane, according to the spokesperson, who added that 380 Iraqi nationals voluntarily left Germany and returned to Iraq.
Germany is ramping up deportations, with hundreds of individuals being returned at its borders, sparking criticism from opposition parties over human rights concerns.
Last month, Germany deported 43 Iraqis, including a Yazidi family. A court ruled to cancel their deportation, but the decision was not made available until after their flight landed in Baghdad, DW reported at the time. State authorities are now trying to bring the family back to Germany.
In January, the German parliament passed a controversial migration control bill aimed at tightening enforcement. The legislation includes five measures: preventing illegal immigration, deporting those without legal status, deporting foreign criminals, detaining those under removal orders, and limiting family reunification.
Germany is a popular destination for tens of thousands of Iraqis and residents of the Kurdistan Region who attempt to reach Europe each year, often through smuggling routes.
