Germany's new coalition government, composed of conservatives and social democrats, aims to tighten migration policies. However, a Berlin administrative court ruling has made it clear that asylum seekers cannot be automatically turned away at German borders under the new regulations proposed by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

The court's decision deemed the practice of immediate deportations, known as "hot returns," illegal. It emphasized that asylum seekers must first go through the Dublin procedure to identify which EU member state is responsible for processing their asylum application. Despite this ruling, Dobrindt insists that Germany will continue to expel asylum seekers at the border, stating this decision pertains to a "specific case" and won't alter overall border practices.

The court's decision, which cannot be appealed, arose from complaints filed by three Somali nationals. They were sent back to Poland on May 9 from the border city of Frankfurt an der Oder, despite requesting asylum when stopped by police. German authorities argued they had entered from a safe third country, thus justifying their rejection at the border. The applicants, now in Poland, have filed urgent appeals against this decision.

This represents the first judicial challenge to the new policy introduced by CSU politician Friedrich Merz, who, shortly after taking office on May 6, intensified border checks and authorized the rejection of asylum seekers citing an emergency state. The court found no evidence of such exceptional conditions warranting the policy changes.

The court reiterated that Germany is "obligated" to apply the Dublin Regulation procedure for asylum requests made within its territory, typically involving the country of first entry. Accordingly, the Somali applicants should have been allowed to cross the border.

Nonetheless, the justice system noted that the claimants cannot demand entrance into German territory beyond the border. According to the Dublin Regulation, the procedure can be conducted at the border or within border zones without necessarily granting entry permission.

Reactions have been swift. The Green Party demands the immediate withdrawal of this order, urging adherence to the law without deliberately exceeding powers for populist purposes. Meanwhile, the police union highlighted that this measure was legally contentious from the start.

Legal experts have repeatedly questioned the legality of border rejections, as the Dublin Regulation supersedes national laws. Dobrindt cannot solely rely on German asylum law while ignoring European standards. Specialists had foreseen the difficulty in proving the emergency situation claimed by the Interior Minister.

Though Monday's ruling applies specifically to the Somali case, the court's legal statements are relevant to other similar scenarios. Experts anticipate that the Interior Minister will comply with the court's decision and cease this practice beyond the individual case.