Germany is struggling to deport rejected asylum seekers, the country's top police chief said on Wednesday.

Federal police chief Dieter Romann blamed a lack of pre-deportation facilities for deportations not being carried out. Speaking to Germany's Funke media group, he said "there are far too few detention centers in the country."

Read more: Germany: Chances of refugees gaining asylum depend on where they apply

For the 248,000 foreigners required to be deported, there are just 577 deportation centers for them to be held and processed before leaving the country, Romann told Funke.

However, 119,000 of those have been granted a stay of deportation as local authorities see a reason why they cannot currently be removed from the country.

Read more: Germany: Thousands of migrants return after deportation, report says

From January to October 2019, authorities registered a total of 20,996 deportations, 1,000 less than in the same period last year, according to Funke's figures.

German states are responsible for deportations, but federal police accompany flights taking rejected asylum seekers to third-countries. 

Earlier this month, German police officers reported feeling the strain from deportations as the number of officers accompanying deportation flights doubled in just four years.

Read more: German police say 71 officers injured during deportations

The drop in the number of deportations comes as fewer people entered Germany illegally overall: a total of 32,945 people in 2019 compared with 38,580 last year.

Germany still remains the number one destination among all EU member states for asylum seekers, with more than 150,000 claims from first-time applicants in 2018, according to EU statistics.

kmm/cw (dpa,AFP)

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