The German federal government has received sharp criticism for its migration policy from an unexpected source. Germany is experiencing a serious crisis, a mayor says.

As Germany’s population continues to break records due to mass immigration, and migrants are expected to cost taxpayers over 36 billion euros in 2023, an increasing number of voices are warning of the severe social impacts of the Social Democratic-Green-Liberal federal government’s immigration policy.

Most recently, the federal government received criticism from a highly unexpected source. Although a supporter of the ruling coalition Greens and the idea of welcoming as many immigrants as possible to Germany, Tubingen Mayor Boris Palmer said in an interview with Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that

„if we spend all resources of society on newcomers and locals get nothing, this society is going to blow up.”

The mass influx of migrants will drain Germany’s social system sooner or later, Mr Palmer added.

The cost of immigration for taxpayers is certainly huge, with tens of billions of euros spent every year to provide housing, food and integration services for the growing foreign-born population in Germany. New stories such as this week’s report that Hamburg is spending 14 million euros a month on hotel rooms alone to house migrants have become an everyday occurrence in the country. This figure is just a drop in the ocean.

This year, Germany will spend 26.65 billion euros on migrants alone, figures published by the Finance Ministry reveal. However, this number does not even portray the complete picture, as this is only the money spent at the federal level. The provinces and local authorities are also forecast to spend over 10 billion euros, bringing the grand total for only 2023 to at least 36 billion euros.

Mass immigration is affecting everything, and comes with a range of costs that are difficult to calculate, from overcrowded and chaotic schools to rising house prices.

Because of the high numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Germany each year, it is important to pose the question: „What does this mean for the country?” Mr Palmer says, referring to the mix of newcomers failing to integrate and the high demands on German social service and welfare systems.

As social welfare is very generous, people arriving in the country opt for living off benefits rather than work.

Other parties, such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD), have presented a number of policies to reduce immigration flows, including the closure of German borders. However, while AfD is popular, it has little political power. Closing borders is crucial to protecting Germany’s social system, party leader Alice Weidel said. Reacting to the government’s proposal that all residents in Germany, even migrants, should receive a basic income, Ms Weidel said this would only encourage even more new arrivals, and that there were already legitimate concerns that migrants were relying on the welfare state rather than entering the labour market.

So far, 2023 shows little sign of the migrant crisis easing. In the first quarter of this year, 80,000 asylum applications were received in Germany, figures published by the Federal Office for Migration and Asylum show. This represents an increase of 80 per cent compared to last year.