German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to intensify deportations and reduce irregular migration during a visit to Solingen, where a recent mass stabbing left three people dead, Reuters reports.
Scholz labeled the attack, allegedly committed by a suspected Islamic State member from Syria, as terrorism. The incident has heightened political tensions around asylum and deportation policies ahead of upcoming state elections. Scholz emphasized the need to ensure that individuals who do not have a permit to stay in Germany are repatriated.
The attacker was identified as a “Dublin case,” meaning his asylum claim should have been processed in the first EU country he entered. The suspect had been scheduled for deportation to Bulgaria last year, but the attempt failed because he was not present at his refugee accommodation when authorities tried to enforce the deportation.
