Grüne on migration and integration

The Greens want to amend Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's school law. Children living in initial reception centers for refugees would gain a right to attend school.

Some children live in initial reception centers. Refugees stay there after they arrive. These children should get a right to go to school. The Greens want to change the school law for this.

The proposal comes under the heading of a school for all children. It would be carried out by amending the state school law. The right would apply to children housed in the state's initial reception centers.

The Greens want to create safe accommodation with private retreat spaces and more privacy for refugee women. Staff are to be trained, and those affected are to get specialized counseling and legal help. In residence law, the Istanbul Convention, a treaty on protecting women from violence, is to be implemented.

Refugee women are often in danger and have little privacy. The Greens want safe rooms just for women in shelters. Staff should be trained for this. The women should get counseling and legal help.

Protected facilities are planned for women traveling alone who need special protection and for minorities at risk. Separate safe spaces are to exist both in initial reception centers and in municipal shared housing. Language and integration courses are to be expanded with reliable childcare, and educational programs are to consider the needs of FLINTA* people. Anyone persecuted because of gender or sexual orientation is to receive expert counseling and legal support.

The Greens want reliable funding for integration work in the state and to reverse cuts made by the state government. The Integration and Participation Act is to be revised and the state administration opened up interculturally.

The Greens want more and secure money for integration. Integration means that immigrants become part of society. Language courses and counseling should get lasting funding. Government offices should be easy to use for everyone.

Funding is to cover not only state bodies and additional language courses but also migrant-led organizations, interpreter pools, and psychosocial centers. The Integration and Participation Act is to be revised to strengthen participation and a say for migrants and to increase funds for integration work and community meeting places. The state administration is to open up interculturally so that its services are accessible to everyone regardless of origin. The platform argues that parallel societies would otherwise emerge.

The Greens want to abolish the Bezahlkarte (a payment card on which refugees receive their benefits). Instead, all refugees are to get their own bank account with an unrestricted debit card so they can manage daily life independently.

Refugees now get their money on a payment card. The Greens want to end this card. Refugees should get their own bank account. They should be able to take out cash without limits.

The payment card is to be replaced by access to a personal bank account with a debit card. There would be no caps on payouts or cash withdrawals. Regional restrictions on where the card can be used would also be dropped. The platform justifies this with human dignity and an independent daily life.

The Greens reject deportations to areas where people face persecution and call for a deportation freeze for certain groups. Asylum procedures are to become fairer through independent counseling and an independent hardship commission.

The Greens want fewer deportations. Deportation means the state sends a person back to their home country. People from Afghanistan and Iran should be allowed to stay. The same goes for Yazidis. Refugees should get independent advice.

The state would no longer deport people from Afghanistan and Iran or Yazidis. Citing the Geneva Convention, the platform rejects deportations to places where life or freedom is at risk, for example because of religion, political belief, or sexual identity. It also rejects deportations from schools, hospitals, and churches, and those that separate families. The plan includes an independent hardship commission, statewide counseling independent of the authorities, and transparent decisions.

The Greens want to reform how refugees are housed: fewer shared shelters, more decentralized housing, and mandatory protection against violence. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Disability Rights Convention are also to be applied to refugees.

The Greens want better housing for refugees. There should be fewer large shared shelters. More refugees should live in regular apartments. There should be firm rules to protect people from violence.

The number of shared shelters is to fall, and living in individual apartments is to be promoted. Particularly vulnerable people are to receive targeted help. Binding protection against violence is to be introduced, and legal standards for housing and care are to be raised. Refugees themselves and civil society organizations are to be more involved and supported. In the platform's view, today's shelters deter people rather than help them settle in.