Grüne on migration and integration

The Greens want to expand language support and integration courses and recognize foreign qualifications faster. People should have equal opportunities in education, work and housing regardless of their origin.

The Greens want to offer more German classes. This applies to children and adults. Degrees from abroad should count sooner. All people should have the same chances.

The Hessian Integration and Participation Act is to be developed further. Barriers to integration courses, such as a lack of childcare, are to be reduced. The programs "Wirtschaft integriert" and "Sozialwirtschaft integriert" will continue, and retraining and job-related language courses are to get more funding. Multilingualism is to be promoted in schools and adult education. The party wants to act against the exploitation of migrant workers, and the local WIR diversity centers are to be evaluated and strengthened.

The Greens want to push at the federal level for voting rights for everyone living permanently in Germany. In Hesse, naturalization and the political representation of migrants are to be promoted and dealings with government agencies simplified.

The Greens want this: People who live here for good should be able to vote. They want to push for this at the federal level. Government offices should be easier to deal with. Key forms should come in several languages.

Agencies, especially immigration offices, are to use fewer forms and plain language, and the most common forms are to be available in several languages. Naturalization is to be promoted further. Foreigners' advisory councils, their umbrella organization and migrant self-organizations are to be strengthened, including financially. To that end, the party wants to review how workable the Hessian Municipal Code is.

The Greens want Hesse to take in refugees beyond its share under the nationwide distribution and help them build a secure life. They rely on good initial care, rapid decentralized housing and legal escape routes.

The Greens want to help people who had to flee. Hesse should do more than its duty. Refugees should move quickly into normal housing. They should be able to see a doctor more easily.

The party wants to continue the path of the integration action plans and the state admission program for people from Afghanistan. Independent counseling and psychosocial centers for refugees are to be strengthened. An electronic health card is meant to make access to medical treatment easier. The Greens advocate safe and legal escape routes and want to support initiatives for sea rescue in the Mediterranean.

The Greens want agencies to check systematically whether refugees who have lived here a long time and are well integrated can stay permanently. Switching from the asylum track to the immigration track is to become easier, also because of the skilled-labor shortage.

Some refugees have lived here a long time and are well integrated. The Greens want them to be able to stay. Government offices should check this carefully. No one should be pulled out of a job or training.

The platform calls for a change of culture in the responsible agencies: they should not only plan deportations but also examine options for permanent residence under existing law. The so-called track change into an immigration procedure is to be made simpler. People in training and employment should be able to stay. Residence restrictions such as the Wohnsitzauflage (requirement to live in an assigned place) are to be dropped.

The Greens want to professionalize schooling for immigrant children and teenagers to prevent broken educational paths. Intensive language classes are to become smaller and exist at all types of schools. The party rejects deportations from schools.

The Greens want better lessons for immigrant children. German language classes should be smaller. All types of schools should offer them. No one should be deported from a school.

Schooling is to be monitored, and the recognition of foreign school diplomas is to be revised. German as a second language (DaZ) is to carry more weight in teacher training, and qualified DaZ teachers are to get permanent contracts. Much smaller literacy classes are planned for learners who have not mastered the Latin alphabet. Access to upper secondary school is to be eased for students with limited German, with language support up to the Abitur. Models of partial integration into regular classes with more staff are to be supported.

The Greens regard deportations as measures under the rule of law that should be carried out carefully and proportionately. Voluntary departure is to take priority. Return counseling is to be reviewed and developed further if needed.

Not all refugees can stay in Germany. The Greens want these people to go back by choice if possible. That is better than deportation. Deportations should be carried out with care. Children and families need special attention.

According to the platform, not every refugee can stay permanently. Those affected are to be supported as well as possible in this situation, with particular regard for the needs of children and families. Return counseling for people with no prospect of staying is to be evaluated and adjusted where necessary.