Duisburg is fighting poverty immigration: What does politics do?
Duisburg is fighting poverty immigration: What does politics do?
On May 4, 2025, Duisburg's mayor Sören Link (SPD) commented on Instagram on the current poverty immigration from Southeast Europe. On this occasion he linked a report by the "world" that illuminates immigration to Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen. Link emphasizes that the Ruhr area, despite the Germany -wide immigration of qualified specialists, suffers from the consequences of criminal networks that take advantage of social support.
The employment situation of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria is particularly worrying. In Gelsenkirchen, only 13% of the approximately 12,000 Romanians and Bulgarians have a work subject to social security contributions, while in Duisburg only 17% of around 26,000 have the same option. Many immigrants are fighting to earn only a minimal hourly wage in order to obtain claims to social benefits. Link reports that a family of six can receive up to 2,700 euros a month through social benefits.immigration and social challenge
Markus Töns, SPD member of the Bundestag from Gelsenkirchen, as a result, demands an increase in the minimum income for social benefits. Link itself pleads for immigrants to develop their own livelihood; Otherwise, a departure from the country should take place. He expresses his concern about the activities of criminal networks that illegally reflect on people to illegally deduct social achievements.
Local politicians in the Ruhr area hope for support from the federal government to take action against such illegal machinations. Link also calls for free access to the authorities to data potential fraudsters in order to enable faster identification and, if necessary, deportations. In this context, the federal government plans a data exchange between social, financial and security authorities as well as increased border controls.
With all these challenges, Link also expresses concerns about a possible emigration of voters to the AfD, which received the most votes in the last Bundestag election in Gelsenkirchen. He relies on the new federal government and the coalition agreement as the basis for the urgently needed measures.studies and experiences of discrimination
Ten years ago, European Free movement, initially for Romania and Bulgaria, achieved far -reaching importance. According to a study by the Institute for Work and qualification (IAQ) of the University of Duisburg-Essen, around 1.3 million people from these countries live in Germany, which is more than 10% of the foreign population. The migration from these countries is often referred to as poverty immigration, a term that has a stigmatizing effect.
Duisburg has the highest number of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania in North Rhine-Westphalia, with around 26,000 people. Despite the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, the full workers' free movement of workers is rarely regarded as an opportunity for the labor market for these EU citizens. Prejudices such as those of "social tourism" shape both political programs and the everyday life of these immigrants.
The study accompanied around 720 people in the Hochfeld and Marxloh districts between November 2023 and June 2024. It shows that many migrants are only hesitant to use welfare -state services, and even actively reject some. Nevertheless, they face challenges, such as long waiting times and strict evidence obligations that make access to social achievements more difficult.
In addition, precarious employment relationships in industries such as the meat industry, construction or care are widespread. This means that 44% of employees subject to social security and over 50% of Bulgarian employees earn below the low -wage threshold. In addition, immigrants on the housing market are often ethnically discriminated against, which makes it difficult for them to access regular apartments.in the northern town of Dortmund, for example, where a large proportion of immigrants live, social problems have been reinforced by the immigration of poverty. The city has already launched initiatives for Integration, including the "Working Group Problem Houses" and the "Network for EU Armut immigration". Already in March 2013, 3,438 immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania were recorded in Dortmund.
The challenge of immigration requires a coordinated strategy for integration into education, work and living space. Progress in promoting diversity and equal opportunities are urgently necessary to perceive the potential of migrants in the German labor market and to reduce stereotypes.
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