Germany's Responses to Increasing Asylum Seekers in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s

After World War II, Germany made a commitment to providing asylum. This became controversial as more people applied for asylum in the early 1980s, and new federal laws limited the rights of asylum seekers. By the mid-1990s growing numbers and diversity of asylum seekers led to a constitutional amendment limiting the right to asylum. As the numbers of asylum seekers decreased, refugees became less divisive. Localities increasingly implemented laws in ways that increased rights of asylum seekers, and the 2005 Immigration Act added new grounds for asylum. In addition, some restrictive policies have been rejected by domestic and EU court cases. This paper builds from that historical base to examine laws and practices as asylum applications have again risen in the past few years. How do current responses, as seen in developing policies and practices, compare to Germany's responses during earlier periods of increasing asylum applications?