Overview
- German churches recorded 2,386 church asylum cases in 2024, marking a roughly 14% increase over 2023
- State officials report that church asylum often delays or prevents deportations for months, causing many legally ordered expulsions to fail
- Nearly all church asylum cases involve Dublin procedures for migrants who had already applied for asylum in another EU member state
- Evangelical leaders view church asylum as a vital humanitarian service, with Berlin Bishop Christian Stäblein describing it as a reminder of mercy’s role in society
- Earlier this month, three Somali migrants who entered via Poland were granted church asylum in a Berlin church, underscoring ongoing conflicts over asylum policy