Overview

• On ZDF’s Markus Lanz, Palmer claimed violent offenses by Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans occur at roughly ten times their population share, a characterization that other guests immediately challenged.
• Palmer argued municipalities are strained by mandatory refugee accommodation, saying cities lack resources to house residents who cannot find affordable homes.
• He criticized recent Bürgergeld increases and bureaucracy as barriers to getting refugees into jobs, and said people should be able or required to work from their first day in Germany.
• Ukrainians’ employment rate in Germany is the lowest in Europe, Palmer asserted, while Ludwigshafen’s mayor Jutta Steinruck countered that her city’s data show no elevated crime among foreigners.
• The exchange follows Palmer’s high-profile debates on migration, including a recent Tübingen event with an AfD politician, underscoring the polarized national argument over integration and local capacity.