Merz tells US: German migration policy is 'our business'
Germany has long been careful to maintain the best of relations with the United States and government responses to US criticism have been measured in the past. But Chancellor Merz was forthright in rejecting US warnings on migration, a sensitive issue in Germany.
Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected US interference in German migration policy.
"We don't need admonitions from outside," Merz said on Thursday in response to a directive from the US State Department to civil servants in Western countries to work towards a stricter migration policy.
"Migration policy is our business, and we decide on it as we see fit," the chancellor asserted. "And we in the Federal Republic of Germany have been on the right track since this government was formed."
Migration highly sensitive issue in Germany
Migration has become a politically sensitive issue, especially for the conservative-led government under Merz, who has emphasized a more controlled migration policy compared to his predecessors.
The chancellor was responding to a text from the US State Department published last week on X.
In it, US officials are called upon to urge governments in Western countries to "take decisive action to protect citizens from the dangers of mass migration."
"Mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization and undermines the stability of key American allies," the post states.
The State Department also instructed its diplomats abroad to report on government measures "that punish citizens who object to continued mass migration."