Open Letter

WE ARE PEOPLE, NOT FILES!

We demand: Include the perspective of those affected in the design of the Erfurt Ausländerbehörde („Foreigners Authority“)!

For people who arrive in Erfurt or have long since arrived, the Ausländerbehörde is the most important point of contact. Whether exchange students, migrants, refugees or emigrated professionals – the Ausländerbehörde is responsible for the matters that concern them. These include:

• Administrative activities such as issuing and renewing residence and travel documents, the electronic residence permit and a work permit
• Bureaucratic activities related to the asylum process and its further course, which includes both family reunification and settlement permits
• Deportations

• Information about possible courses of action in all these processes

For the life of the affected persons in Erfurt and Germany, the decisions of the responsible Ausländerbehörde are of great importance. This is where it is determined what happens to them, whether they are allowed to work or even where they are allowed to stay at all. We have a fundamental problem with the (structural and institutional) racism of the “Foreigners Authority” – so we will continue to not accept that and how deportations take place in Erfurt.

Regardless of this, the dependence on the Foreigners Authority has been a heavy burden on the shoulders of those affected for years, as the authority does not fulfill its duties. One of the reasons for this is that the authority is chronically understaffed. However, the reason is no excuse for those affected, who experience severe cuts in their lives and basic rights as a result. The problems of the Ausländerbehörde may not be carried out on the back of the concerning!

Numerous affected persons cannot and could not arrange an appointment with the Foreigners Authority in the past years: either because it fails because of the language barrier to find one’s way on the exclusively German-language website, or because the authority simply does not provide appointments – neither on the phone, nor by e-mail, nor through the specially established online appointment portal of the city.

It is obvious that many of the applicants at the Foreigners Authority speak little German. Nevertheless, German is the only working language there. The same applies to the application forms and instructions. Through the Thuringian state program of the GFAW, the Erfurt Auländerbehörde can easily and quickly reach interpreters in various languages, and the effort is negligible. Nevertheless, those affected are required to bring their own interpreters to the appointment. This is unprofessional and leads to translation errors – again at the cost of the affected persons.

People affected have extreme problems convincing other offices and authorities, especially the police, but also landlords and employers, of the validity of their documents issued by the Erfurt Ausländerbehörde. This means existential problems for the people concerned: no apartment, no job, possibly even being arrested by the police – just because the document by the foreigners authority is not generally recognized or even known. In addition, many people feel that they are not accepted in society and the constant fear of police checks is thus fueled. All of this leads to a heavy psychological burden for those affected and to a restriction of their own way of life.

Fiction certificates (“Fiktionsbescheinigung” = proof that a residence title has been applied for, but has not yet been issued or is still “in print”) are sometimes issued 1 1/2 years after application. Actually, it should be clear that such a fiction certificate should at most be a temporary solution – but an example is also the case in which a person received fiction certificates from the Erfurt Ausländerbehörde for twelve years until a residence title was finally issued.

The list of problems at the Foreigners Authority is endless, and those affected have been fighting for many years to improve the situation. All citizens of Erfurt should support these struggles. The lengthened processing times alone leave those affected in an intolerable state of uncertainty about their future and are barriers to integrative and social coexistence.

The city of Erfurt promised the Foreigners Authority financial resources for more jobs years ago. Nothing has happened, because the Foreigners Authority is not legally allowed to employ more people in its current premises. The city has reacted to the inadequate space situation – also due to pressure from civil society actors – and has allocated the Foreigners Authority larger premises for the summer of 2023. It has not yet been clarified whether and how this will be used to improve the situation of those affected.

Already in 2018, an integration concept was prepared by the state capital Erfurt, in which measures such as “a regular offer of intercultural further education and training” for employees as well as, for example, “translation aids and multilingual forms” are explicitly mentioned. So far, none of these recommendations have been implemented and thus no improvements have been made for those affected – how can this be?

OUR DEMANDS

We demand the implementation of four measures – which can be implemented now, immediately, by the city of Erfurt! We accept no more excuses and demand:

1. the immediate advertisement of the unoccupied positions! Unoccupied and new jobs at the Ausländerbehörde Erfurt are to be written out immediately, in order to occupy them as fast as possible. The positions should be advertised EXTERNALLY, migrants and people with migration history should be explicitly addressed and hired. New staff should be sensitive to the realities of life and everyday life of migrants, which is often characterized by racism in Germany, speak at least one other language and be prepared to use it. If it is necessary to fill a position, additional premises must be rented in the short term to bridge the gap.

2. the immediate reorganization of the Website of the Ausländerbehörde Erfurt! This means the translation of the website, including all its functions into the required languages as well as into easy language – that this is not yet a standard in 2022 is not inclusive and unprofessional – as well as a barrier-free, simple and clear interface and application. The online presence of the Foreigners Authority should be designed separately and independently from other websites of the city of Erfurt for this purpose.

3. the immediate anchoring of a complaint office for discriminatory and other misconduct of the personnel in the budget, located in the foreigners authority and staffed with external personnel! What is standard in other cities must also and especially be established in Erfurt. If the city is serious about the “fight against racism” in the state capital, it must set a good example in its own authorities!

4. the immediate supply of all application forms and information sheets in the necessary languages! These materials should be created, offered and used according to the linguistic needs of the people who rely on the Erfurt Foreigners Authority. For affected relevant topics, for which there is no information material, we demand this finally.

The demands mentioned must and can be implemented now. The situation for humans, who are dependent on the foreigner authority Erfurt, is no longer portable. We can no longer hear excuses and call for action – now!

Further, we demand a commitment from those responsible to implement the following measures by the time the Foreigners Authority moves:

• (Re-)Establishment of the ability to work: Basic standards must be met – and not just in one year! This concerns, for example, the implementation of family reunifications and the issuance of residence titles and settlement permits within reasonable waiting periods. The employees of the foreigners authority should use their latitude of discretion in favor of the persons concerned – in many cases this would minimize the bureaucratic effort and stress for all involved! Personal appointments and better accessibility are needed.

• Counter discrimination and racism in the foreigners authority, promote transcultural sensitivity! The work in the Foreigners Authority in Erfurt seems to be characterized by a lack of professionalism and empathy, by indifference and possibly hatred towards the people who depend on the work of this authority. This can and must change as soon as possible. The employees of the immigration office should have professional knowledge about the specific situations and possibilities of the people. New and old staff must be sensitized to the problems of migrants, deal with structural, institutional and personal racism and be qualified for the work through regular external training – as the integration concepts of the state of Thuringia (2017) and the city of Erfurt (2018) envision.

  Affected people must be included in the developments. Listen to the problems of the people – often we ourselves have approaches for solutions, just no chance to implement them.
  
  We are people, not files!