Germany deports 9,663 people in H1 2026, down from 11,800; AfD slams 'disaster'

National figures

Germany deported 9,663 people in the first half of 2026, according to interior ministry data released in response to a parliamentary inquiry by AfD MP Leif-Erik Holm. That is a decline from more than 11,800 deportations in the same period of 2025, though it remains above the roughly 9,500 recorded in the first half of 2024. The full-year trend had been upward: 22,800 deportations in 2025, more than 20,000 in 2024, about 16,400 in 2023, and nearly 13,000 in 2022.

Alongside forced returns, 9,276 people left voluntarily in the first six months of 2026 with support from the federal-state REAG/GARP programme. Additional departures were funded through individual state programmes, the ministry noted. The most common reason for failed deportations, according to the AfD, is that individuals required to leave go into hiding.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern saw deportations nearly halve: 79 people were removed on the state's authority between January and June 2026, down from 152 in the first half of 2025. For the full year 2025, the state recorded just over 300 deportations, compared with 390 in 2024.

Asylum applications in the state also fell sharply. The interior ministry in Schwerin registered 809 first-time applications in the first half of 2026, a drop of roughly 35 percent from 1,260 in the same period of 2025 and well below the 2,464 recorded in the first half of 2024. The ministry cited changed conditions in origin countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, as well as tighter border controls and refusals of entry, as possible reasons for the decline. War refugees from Ukraine are not included in these figures.

Political reactions

AfD MP Leif-Erik Holm, who is the co-state leader of his party in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is challenging incumbent Manuela Schwesig (SPD) for the post of minister-president in the September state election, sharply criticised the figures.

Die ganze Migrationspolitik ist ein Desaster, im Bund wie im Land.

He added that the repeatedly promised deportation offensives were "reine Rohrkrepierer" and that the security situation was worsening. Holm argued that the numbers in MV had almost halved compared with previous half-years and called for state-level solutions. The AfD wants to establish a state exit facility and a dedicated deportation detention centre for migrants who have committed crimes, and its election programme proposes a separate border and return police unit within the state police.

Government response

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) defended the government's record, saying this week that the migration turnaround was being advanced.

Die Migrationswende wird mit Kontrolle, Kurs und klarer Kante vorangetrieben.

Germany recently resumed deportations to Afghanistan, a move that drew criticism over the cooperation with the ruling Taliban that makes such returns possible.