Two more cities in the German state of Lower Saxony have banned refugees from settling in their communities.
The cities of Delmenhorst and Wilhelmshaven have been granted permission to turn down refugees. The towns requested temporary authority to turn away migrants after receiving an unprecedented amount in recent years. The state’s interior ministry said “reasons of integration” justify a moratorium in certain communities.
“It is an extraordinary measure aimed at preventing the social and social marginalization of immigrant refugees,” Lower Saxony’s interior ministry said in a statement, newspaper Die Welt reports.
The city of Salzgitter was the first to set a ban on migrants in October when authorities said they felt overwhelmed with the “exceptionally high immigration.” The town’s mayor said 5,800 migrants live in the community, with a majority arriving over the past year. (RELATED: German City Bans Migrants From Moving In)
“At the moment we are overwhelmed,” Frank Klingebiel told Focus Online in an interview.
The ban is not a meant to make refugees feel unwelcome, but rather give the existing refugee population a chance to integrate, according to Klingebiel.
“We urgently need a pause to integrate the refugees already living in Salzgitter in the long term and to secure the social peace,” Klingebiel said.
Lowe Saxony has further invested 10 million euros ($11.82 million) to help communities integrate migrants.
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