Germany deports hundreds of Iraqis over six months

BERLIN — Germany’s Interior Ministry has announced that more than 400 Iraqi nationals have been deported over the past six months, as Berlin tightens immigration rules amid growing support for stricter migration measures across Europe. 

A ministry spokesperson confirmed to Kurdish news outlet Rudaw that 434 Iraqi passport holders were deported during the period. Of these, 328 were flown directly back to Iraq. 380 others left Germany voluntarily and returned home. 

Germany has stepped up its deportation operations, returning hundreds of individuals—a move that has drawn criticism from opposition parties over human rights concerns. 

Last month alone, Berlin deported 43 Iraqis, including members of a Yazidi family. Although a German court later ruled to cancel the deportation order, the judgment was only announced after the plane had already landed in Baghdad. 

Earlier this year, the German parliament passed a controversial immigration monitoring law aimed at stricter enforcement. The legislation includes five key measures: preventing illegal immigration, deporting those without legal status, deporting foreign criminals, detaining individuals with outstanding deportation orders, and limiting family reunification.