Overview
- The Bundestag approved a law letting the government label countries as safe by regulation without Bundesrat consent for most protection claims and scrapped the state-funded mandatory lawyer in detention cases, while adding a 10-year citizenship ban for proven fraud.
- The measure passed 457–130, with CDU/CSU, SPD and AfD backing and Greens and the Left opposed, as legal and rights groups warned of weaker safeguards and an end run around full legislative scrutiny.
- The Federal Constitutional Court directed Berlin to decide "immediately" on visas for an Afghan ex-judge and his family, stopping short of ordering entry; the Interior Ministry said it will act promptly and maintained that some prior admissions are not legally binding.
- Roughly 1,500 to 1,900 Afghans with previous assurances remain stuck in Pakistan or Afghanistan, with rights groups citing planned Pakistani deportations from January 2026 and the court noting a Germany–Pakistan timeline that heightens removal risk after December 31.
- Aid group Kabul Luftbrücke reports more than 120 admissions have been withdrawn since mid-November, while the federal human rights commissioner urged swift transfers to honor commitments and protect Germany’s credibility.