Overview

• Hans-Eckhard Sommer, President of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), proposed replacing individual asylum rights with a system of humanitarian quotas during a speech on April 1, 2025.
• Green and Left Party leaders have called for Sommer's resignation, arguing his proposal undermines constitutional and international protections for asylum seekers.
• Acting Interior Minister Nancy Faeser distanced herself from Sommer's remarks, reaffirming the SPD's commitment to asylum rights but refraining from taking personnel action against him.
• CDU figures, including Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster, praised Sommer's proposal as a constructive contribution to addressing migration challenges.
• The controversy has intensified debates over Germany's migration policies ahead of coalition negotiations and ongoing EU asylum system reforms.