Remigration: What is the AfD's 'mass deportation' German election policy?

The far-right AfD has been in the headlines again for taking a tougher stance on migration ahead of Germany's snap elections in February. 

At the party conference held in Riesa, Saxony, at the weekend, the AfD's chancellor candidate and co-leader of the party, Alice Weidel endorsed the term ‘remigration' - and it has been added to the party's election manifesto ahead of the nationwide vote on February 23rd.

READ ALSO: Alice Weidel - German far-right's unlikely hope for chancellor

Haven't we heard remigration before?

Yes. The term has morphed into a buzzword in right-wing and far-right circles for some time, but an investigation put it in the spotlight last year.

Last January, German news outlet Correctiv detailed how AfD members and other individuals including neo-Nazis allegedly discussed 'remigration' at a secret meeting in November 2023 with Martin Sellner, an Austrian far-right activist.

The word is understood to refer to the mass "return" or deportation of certain migrants - including people with a migration background - and can also in some circles refer to the deportation of "non-assimilated citizens".

At the time, the AfD distanced itself from the plan while the report sparked outrage and protests against the far-right across Germany.

But during the party conference in Riesa, Saxony, delegates - and Weidel - publicly welcomed the term. 

The first 100 days of a government containing the AfD would see the "total closing of Germany's borders and the turning back anyone travelling without documents" as well as "large-scale repatriations", Weidel said.

"I say to you quite honestly, if this must be called remigration, then let it be called remigration."

The word ‘remigration’ was not included in the original draft of the election manifesto, but was added to the final election programme by the party conference in an amendment.

READ ALSO: Germany's far-right AfD denies plan to expel 'non-assimilated foreigners'

It's worth noting, however, that the inclusion of the word in the AfD's election manifesto is not new. The term was reportedly in the AfD's programme for the 2024 European elections as well as in that of 2019. In the 2021 federal election campaign, the AfD also promoted itself with the demand for a "remigration agenda".

Meanwhile, according to German daily Bild, regional AfD leader Björn Höcke, who has been fined twice for using banned Nazi slogans, called for a "large-scale remigration project" in a book published in 2018. As well as deporting illegal immigrants, Höcke spoke of deporting migrants who "cannot be integrated" and "culturally alien" people.

Remigration was also voted Germany's 'ugliest word of the year' for the year 2023. The Unwort des Jahres - or non-word of the year - highlights some of the most discriminatory phrases that spring up or are popularised in Germany.

Announcing the decision in January 2024, the jury said: "For right-wing parties and other far-right groups in the Identitarian movement, the word has become a euphemism for the demand for forced expulsion and even mass deportations of people with a migration background."

READ ALSO: German elections - the key party pledges that will affect foreigners

Does the AfD really want to send foreigners away from Germany?

The AfD's official line as things stand is that remigration is about deporting immigrants who don't have the right to stay in Germany or those who have committed crimes or are extremists. 

But many right-wing extremists interpret the term differently, widening it out to include people with a foreign background - and even those with German citizenship in some cases - who are not deemed to have integrated well enough into Germany. 

Because of the controversy around this term and the often racist motives behind it, the AfD's leadership decision to embrace it in such a public manner even after the scandal of last year is a sign of the party's confidence. It shows they are trying to appeal to the most extreme far-right voters - and could perhaps be open to more radical concepts. 

Meanwhile, a regional branch of the AfD in the German city of Karlsruhe came under fire this week for distributing campaign leaflets that look like deportation flight tickets. This signals another effort by the party to focus the election campaign against people with a foreign background. 

READ ALSO: How worried should Germany be about the AfD after mass deportation scandal?

Bild reported that the term remigration may also be getting used by Weidel to help distance the AfD from other parties. For instance, the conservative bloc (CDU/CSU) - and even the Social Democrats (SPD) to some extent - have been talking about returning illegal or irregular migrants.

Bild said: "Weidel now apparently wants to claim the term ‘remigration’, previously used by right-wing extremists to refer to the deportation of ‘non-assimilated citizens’, for herself and link it to the AfD in order to set herself apart from the competition."

The AfD's migration policy was also tightened in other areas at the party conference. According to AFP, an earlier passage stating that recognised asylum seekers should receive a permanent right to stay in Germany after 10 years has been deleted.

A statement saying the AfD welcomes the admission of European labour as part of the EU's free movement of workers has also been deleted without replacement.

The AfD has been growing in popularity recently, with recent polls placing them second in the election race, behind the CDU, with 22 percent.

But it is highly unlikely that the AfD will get into power because other parties refuse to work with the far right. For that reason, they are likely to be in opposition in the Bundestag after the next election.