Zurich: Refugee situation escalated, army deployment possible

The number of Swiss refugees has literally exploded this year. In addition to the influx of war refugees from Ukraine, the number of asylum seekers from traditional countries of origin has also risen sharply.

Zurich, as the largest canton in Switzerland, feels this particularly strongly. By the end of November, he had registered around 14,200 people seeking protection. Among them are about 12,600 displaced persons from Ukraine who have received S status and about 1,600 asylum seekers. Zurich Security Director Mario Fehr (independent) expects the canton to have around 15,000 newcomers by the end of the year. He said this at a media conference on Thursday. That is the same number of people as applied for asylum throughout Switzerland the year before.

The pressure on the cantons is also particularly great because the federal government came to the attack with the flood of refugees. The Swiss asylum process actually works in such a way that asylum seekers remain in a federal asylum center throughout the entire process. But the number of applications was so high that the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has been assigning people to the cantons since the end of October and until mid-December, whose asylum procedures have not yet been completed.

Federal government wants to pay less money for Ukraine refugees

For this reason, and because of the large number of people in need of protection from Ukraine, the Canton of Zurich had to open six more accommodations in addition to the ten existing ones, primarily civil protection facilities, but also a former retirement center and a former hospital. According to Fehr, one or two more accommodations should be added from mid-December.

All this costs money. But the federal government wants to reduce the flat-rate contribution per capita for the Ukraine refugees from CHF 40 to an expected CHF 35 per day, said Andrea Lübberstedt, head of the canton’s social welfare office. This causes resentment, especially among the communities. For Jörg Kündig, President of the Association of Municipal Councils in the Canton of Zurich, this is, as he said, “a strange sign. The burden is increasing, we should take in more people and at the same time the federal contribution should be reduced. »

But it’s not just the money that hits the communities. Dealing with the Ukrainians who have fled is currently changing on several levels. Because the federal government has decided that protection status S will be extended until 2024, it is no longer a matter of temporarily admitting refugees, but of their integration, said Kündig. At the same time, private accommodation is coming to an end. Kündig spoke of a “lost perspective of the short-term”, both hosts and refugees wanted more privacy.

“We have to look for alternatives,” said Kündig, “empty gyms, containers, civil defense systems”. Once a restaurant is found, there will be no staff to look after the refugees. The shortage of skilled workers is noticeable, said Kündig. He hopes that the communities will be able to fall back on those doing community service. So far, however, the federal government has only decided to offer 140 places in its federal asylum centers to occupy with Zivis.

The Federal Council would have to decide on the use of the army

Government Councilor Mario Fehr assumes that units from the army will soon be called up to provide support. “We have indications that there could be a subsidiary army operation,” he told the media. Medical units or rescue troops, for example, are suitable.

The SEM did not confirm this on Thursday. One takes no position on such assumptions, says the SEM spokesman Reto Kormann. Such a deployment must be decided by the Federal Council. But it is a fact that the shortage of skilled workers does not stop at the migration system.

It was decided years ago that the army could be deployed in the event of an extraordinary refugee crisis. The federal government and the cantons have had an emergency plan since 2016, which provides subsidiary support of the migration system by the army. As a first step, up to 2,000 members of the army could be deployed.

The emergency plan provides for three scenarios in which parts of the Swiss army could be deployed. First: 10,000 asylum applications in 30 days; second: every 10,000 asylum applications during three months; third: 30,000 irregular border crossings within a few days.

Switzerland is still a long way from these figures. The SEM recorded around 3,200 new asylum applications in October, which is the highest monthly figure since the beginning of 2016. There are also up to 3,000 refugees every month from Ukraine.

Mario Fehr does not expect an improvement in the near future. Switzerland is also facing a difficult winter when it comes to refugees. The system is additionally burdened by many asylum seekers with an unfounded application, said Urs Betschart, the outgoing head of the Zurich migration office. There are very many who have already found protection in another European country. It is therefore important that the federal government deals with the applications quickly and makes a legally binding decision.

At least there is a ray of hope: It is easier to leave the country again, said Betschart, for example to Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia. Last week there was also a special flight to Sri Lanka for the first time.