Germany's effort to deport 471 migrants has unraveled into a political scandal after authorities discovered that individuals connected to criminal cases appeared on the list, which originated with the central immigration office in Kösfeld and was sent to Cologne in November 2024. A broader review of case files in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia uncovered approximately 12,000 criminal cases involving people on related lists.
According to the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Cologne alone is reviewing about 1,600 criminal proceedings against people named on the list. A criminal police assessment commissioned by the state government found that the lists included approximately 6,800 people from West Balkan countries and Iraq, of whom about 2,100 were the subject of current or previous investigations appearing as suspects in roughly 12,000 cases.
Manuel Ostermann, head of the federal police union, told WELT TV that the matter reveals a "political failure" in Germany and pointed to more than 41,000 people legally required to leave despite the absence of what he called a genuine "deportation campaign." The newspaper Bild reported that members of one family from Serbia and Montenegro had names connected to approximately 279 crimes, including rape, serious theft, assault, and child abuse.
The Kösfeld immigration office offered to provide substitute travel documents for those on the list in 2024, but Cologne rejected the offer, citing work on finding "perspectives for residence" for some individuals. According to figures from Welt, 152 people on the list have committed 568 new crimes since autumn 2024, while only five have left Germany so far.
Cologne's administrative director, Dorthe Diemert, denied that the city obstructed deportations and said what occurred resulted from "unclear and unfortunate communication." According to West German Radio (WDR), legal teams are currently reviewing the files of approximately 160 people to determine the status of investigations and proceedings against them.
