Anxiety as Germany starts rejecting migrants just after inking deal with RUTO to hire 250,000 workers from Kenya

Thursday, September 19, 2024 - Germany has begun implementing new controls at all its land borders as part of a crackdown on migration.

The new controls mean that the German government is restricting free movement in the Schengen zone.

This comes after Germany and Kenya signed a deal on controlled migration to enable Berlin to open its doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers.

Consequently, beginning Monday, September 16, apart from the existing border controls with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Poland, Germany will also have internal border controls with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

In a statement, Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that the new rules will be in place for six months initially.

While making the announcement on the border control, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it was an attempt to tackle irregular migration and protect the public from threats such as Islamist extremism.

Additionally, he noted that the country has also taken other strict migration measures following a surge in arrivals, especially of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East.

The German government has also designed a scheme enabling authorities to reject more migrants directly at German borders.

President William Ruto promised Kenyans jobs in Germany after the two countries signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Sharing of Labour, Talent and Mobility in Berlin.

Under the deal, Germany agreed to open the doors to skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labor migration deal.

Further, Germany agreed to ease some of its immigration laws to enable Kenyans to find employment in Europe’s biggest economy.

The Kenyan DAILY POST