Last year, German chancellor Angela Merkel declared an open arms policy vowing to welcome refugees. But there had been backlash because of the sheer number of refugees especially after numerous reports of refugees sexually assaulting women during New Year's Day in Cologne. To this effect, the German Cabinet has approved a package of measures to help speed up the processing of refugees for eligibility, and to toughen asylum rules.
ABC News reports that the German Cabinet has already approved of the measures meant to speed up the handling of migrants and to help cut back the number of newcomers. Merkel's coalition agreed to the package last week. The measures includes methods to quickly screen migrants with little chance of gaining asylum within Germany, which means that some of the Syrian refugees would need to wait before they can bring their relatives to Germany.
The measures were approved a week after the cabinet moved to make it easier to deport migrants who commit crimes. According to the New York Times, the measures were intended to make Germany less welcoming to migrants and refugees, and to pacify opponents of Merkel's decision to open Germany to asylum seekers last year. Part of the measures include restrictions on family reunification, as well as deporting deportees who claim they must stay in Germany for treatment, but have home countries with sufficient health care.
Financial Times also reports that these measures would affect migrants from Tusinia, Moricco and Algeria. The three North African states were recently added to the list of so-called safe countries whose citizens cannot qualify for asylum unless they provide evidence of personal or individual persecution. Reportedly, the move which classified those countries as "safe" originated from the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne by men largely described as Arab or North African in appearance. The police in Cologne and nearby Düsseldorf have also raided North African communities in the two cities in a crackdown on crime.
Parliamentary approval is still required to implement the measures. Germany registered nearly 1.1 million people as asylum-seekers last year and is currently taking steps to ensure that this year's numbers are lower.
