Thuringia is “at the limit”
Suhl closes initial reception center for refugees
September 30, 2023, 1:43 p.m
Last week, Prime Minister Ramelow warned that Thuringia was overburdened with accepting migrants. After the number of residents threatens to rise to more than 1,500, the state in Suhl is now closing the doors of its initial reception facility. Other accommodations should be used.
Thuringia has closed its initial reception center for refugees in Suhl to new arrivals. The state administration office decided this on Friday evening “due to the continued high number of arrivals,” said the Thuringian Ministry of Migration. The closure for new arrivals is “a necessary step in order to be able to return to regular operations and not to continue the very high burden on site”.
Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow said last week that he sees his state “at the limit” when it comes to accepting refugees. The facility in Suhl has “long since accepted more people than we consider acceptable.” In view of the very high number of arrivals across Europe, it is currently not possible to implement the planned “occupancy of 800 people in Suhl,” the migration ministry explained. The facility’s capacity is basically 1,400 people. However, adequate care for residents is seen with a maximum occupancy of 800 people. According to the state administration office, more than 1,500 people were accommodated in the initial reception center on Friday.
Ramelow had already warned of overcrowding last week. Suhl will now be “immediately relieved by using the remaining free capacity at the initial reception locations in Eisenberg and Hermsdorf,” it said. In addition, all initial reception centers would also be supported by accommodating refugees in the municipalities.
Ramelow rejected the Union’s demands for stationary border controls due to the increasing number of refugees. Freedom of travel under the European Schengen Agreement must continue to apply. “Deploying police in the Thuringian Forest just for show purposes doesn’t help.”