Germany has turned back 30,000 at borders since May 2025

Germany has turned back around 30,000 people at its borders since the conservative-led government took office in May 2025, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said.

The figure was significant, Dobrindt told public broadcaster ARD late on Wednesday, adding that border checks remained necessary as the number of rejections continued to be high.

Police unions, however, have called for the checks to be scaled back.

Dobrindt defended the measures at Germany's borders, which were extended in February by a further six months until mid-September. He described the stricter approach as a signal that migration policy in Germany had changed, adding that it increased the risk of detection for people smugglers.

At the same time, the minister expressed confidence in new EU asylum rules due to come into force later this year. Germany's parliament approved the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) in February.

If the system functions as intended, including stronger protection of the EU's external borders, temporary border checks within the EU could be phased out again, Dobrindt said.