For months, there has been a heated debate about border controls in Germany. They are meant to be a rare exception within the European Union and the  Schengen area. But in reality, things look rather different at present. Germany has been among the first countries to tighten them, with the government aiming in this way to limit immigration, which is seen as a problem, especially by the rising far right.

However, the rejections at the border of people seeking asylum, amid the stricter controls, have been a source of legal controversy.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who is in charge of domestic security, feels that his course of action has been justified in view of the falling numbers of people seeking asylum in Germany.

More than 720,00 hours of police overtime

Federal police who are turning people back at border crossings have seen a dramatic increase in working hours. According to the Federal Police Commissioner Uli Grötsch, as of May 2025, this task alone had cost police more than 720,000 hours of overtime. The official number of 285 rejections at the borders by the end of June is now offset by 2.8 million overtime hours for the Federal Police, the police union GdP told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

Grötsch was chosen for this newly created position as federal police commissioner by the German parliament in March 2024. Since then, he has visited more than 30 border control points to get as complete a picture as possible of the workload imposed on the 14,000 police that are carrying out the checks.

The police commissioner deals with the Federal Police (Bundespolizei), which is responsible for border protection, railway police duties, aviation security, and the protection of federal agencies and buildings.

The 16 German states, meanwhile, each have its own police force tasked with investigating crime and ensuring public security. 

Grötsch's first annual report presented on July 9, 2025, mentions the consequences that this workload has for family and profession. The increase in police at the borders takes resources from the federal riot police. Many of the officers deployed at the borders to Germany's nine neighboring countries leave gaps in regular services provided by police elsewhere.

Grötsch also sees room for improvement in the provision of equipment and infrastructure. He said his first impressions had been "alarming." 

He cited the example of one checkpoint he visited between Germany and the Czech Republic, where there were still only portable toilets available to officers.

Even last winter, federal police personnel had been forced to use these temporary toilet facilities, Grötsch said. "The Institute for Federal Real Estate, together with the state building authority in Bavaria, was not up to fixing a building already located at the site so that the sanitary rooms could be used again."

Dobrindt under fire 

The federal police commissioner said he also expected officers who are sending back people at the borders on orders from the interior minister to at last be given guarantees on the legality of their actions.

Alexander Dobrindt has upheld his directive despite the fact that the administrative court in Berlin has ruled the practice of turning asylum seekers back at the border to be illegal under European law.

"This is a question that must be dealt with by parliament and the federal government," Grötsch said.

He said the apparent contradiction between the court ruling and the orders from politicians put the officers at the borders in a situation they found difficult to reconcile.

Racial profiling and lack of sensitivity

Another focus in Grötsch's annual report was the issue of racial profiling, where people are stopped for spot checks only because of their appearance, mostly their skin color.

In his report, Grötsch said he had had to deal with 19 cases, often in connection with accusations of racism. He called for more sensitivity and empathy from all involved.

He said police had to manage a difficult balancing act: "On one hand, they are being used to combat irregular immigration. And on the other hand, there is the very delicate matter of spot-checking people whose external appearance makes them seem to have come from the main countries of origin," he said, adding that these were indeed mainly countries in the Global South.

Countering racist incidents

The federal government's commissioner for migration, refugees and integration, Natalie Pawlik, has also highlighted the enormous strain put on federal police at the borders. At the same time, however, she stressed that "We have to work against racist incidents." She said public trust in the police was fostered by transparency and respect for all people.

For this reason, Grötsch is seeking dialogue with the general public and also with researchers, an approach supported by Green parliamentarian Irene Mihalic.

"His exchange with academics is making a significant contribution to remedying structural problems," said Mihalic, herself a trained police officer.

Grötsch says he wants to help explain government actions, especially those of security agencies, to promote transparency. When he receives petitions from citizens who feel discriminated against or treated unlawfully by federal police authorities, Grötsch said he realizes how useful it is to have an independent body like the police commissioner for people to turn to.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.