Migrants in Germany
5 Misconceptions about Integration – and What the Facts Really Say
When debates get heated, it is important to let the facts speak for themselves. That is why we are taking a closer look at five common misconceptions on the topic of integration to establish the facts of the matter, drawing on the scientific expertise of our project partner Mediendienst Integration.
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Misconception: Refugees are failing to get jobs in Germany
Fact is, refugees often do come up against bumps in the road on their path to employment. Asylum seekers, for instance, are not permitted to apply for a job until three months after they first arrived in Germany – and only if they are no longer required to live in asylum accommodation. At first, a lack of language skills or professional qualifications pose a serious barrier, while foreign degrees are often not recognized in Germany. Not to mention that migrants often also face discrimination on the labor market itself. Studies show, for example, that people with a family history of migration as well as Muslims are less likely to be invited to job interviews.
Furthermore, asylum policy in Germany prioritizes measures such as integration courses over quick entry to the job market, with high numbers attending such courses – around 360,000 in 2023. Still, this strategy pays off in the long term, which brings us to the crux of the matter: Since 2017, refugee unemployment has been falling in Germany. According to the media service Mediendienst Integration, today around eight and a half times as many former asylum seekers now have jobs and pay social security contributions than ten years ago. Similarly, around two-thirds of those who came to Germany in 2015 now have a job, while more and more refugees from Ukraine are also finding work. According to the German Federal Employment Agency, 29.4 percent of the latter were in employment as at September 2024, whereas in fall 2022 the figure was just 19 percent.
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Misconception: Migrants are more criminal than German nationals
Yes, foreign nationals feature with above-average frequency in nationwide police crime statistics. In 2023, this group accounted for 41.1 percent of all suspects, while the share of foreign nationals in the general population is 15 percent. But for a clearer picture, you have to take a closer look. First crime statistics are not without their pitfalls: ‘Foreign nationals’ also include people who commit crimes in Germany but do not live there – tourists, for example. Then there is the fact that these statistics include crimes that only migrants can commit, like illegal entry.
Other factors further distort the statistics. As criminologist Gina Wollinger points out in an interview with Mediendienst Integration, “Studies have shown that people who are perceived as ‘foreign’ are more likely to be reported for a crime than those perceived as ‘German’.” Criminologists add that the comparatively high number of foreign offenders has little to do with nationality; challenging personal circumstances, in particular, make it more likely that a person will commit a crime. Of course, migrants are especially vulnerable to such circumstances, being at elevated risk of poverty or violence in their countries of origin, for example.
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Misconception: ‘Clan crime’ poses a major security threat in Germany
Time and again, we are peddled this myth of vast, extended Arab or Turkish families operating across mafia-style structures in a parallel society of violence. A juicy story, yes, but one that bears little resemblance to reality. For one, the number of crimes that actually fall under the term ‘clan crime’ make up only an infinitesimal percentage of the total crime statistics in the German federal states. In Berlin, for instance, it reached just 0.17 percent in 2022, according to the report “Lagebild Clankriminalität” [Report on Clan Crime]. Then there is the fact that clan crime is often equated with organized crime – potentially one reason why the media repeatedly classifies this type of crime as a comparatively high security risk. In practice, there is a significant difference between the two: While organized crime involves several parties joining forces over a longer period of time to commit crimes of a serious nature, so-called clan crime includes all possible violations by anyone belonging to an extended ethnic minority family designated as a ‘clan’ – regardless of the violation’s severity.
Experts also warn against generalizing about family structures. An expert report commissioned by Mediendienst Integration and led by Mahmoud Jaraba at Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, for example, examined the make-up of these structures and came to a clear conclusion: “The vast majority of such family members reject crime and want to see targeted and effective counteraction. Muslims and members of extended families should not face general suspicion.”
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Misconception: German municipalities can no longer cope with the influx of refugees
A survey conducted by the Universität Hildesheim and Mediendienst Integration in spring 2024 found that, for 71 percent of municipalities in Germany, accommodating refugees is challenging but feasible. The study also revealed a vastly improved situation: In fall 2023, around 40 percent of the municipalities declared they were operating in “emergency mode”. Comparatively, by May 2024 the proportion of seriously overburdened municipalities had dropped to 23 percent.
In their expert report for Mediendienst Integration, researchers Boris Kühn and Franziska Ziegler from the Migration Policy Research Group at Universität Hildesheim explained why this is the case: “Some municipalities have successfully expanded their accommodation capacities in the interim period. A smaller number also reported improving their strategic positioning in the meantime, for example by adapting their accommodation strategy or improving coordination with superordinate authorities.” Many municipalities are increasingly viewing refugee accommodation as an ongoing issue and have built up additional capacity accordingly.
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Misconception: Multilingualism stops children from integrating
2022 child and youth welfare statistics show that around 21 percent of children and young people in Germany predominantly speak a language other than German at home. In Hamburg, more than half of the parents with a family history of migration surveyed even stated that they speak several languages at home. But does that get in the way of young people learning German? The answer is not clear cut. On the one hand, studies show that children are not overwhelmed by multilingualism. On the contrary, their cognitive skills become more able and adaptable. Certainly, several studies cited by Mediendienst Integration show they are in fact more cerebrally flexible and adapt well to speaking more than one language.
On the other hand, that does not automatically make them more successful at school. The reason here is how the German education system is structured. Analysis conducted by the German Economic Institute, for example, shows that children are less likely to attend a German Gymansium, the most academic type of high school, if their parents have only a limited knowledge of German. So far, the education system is yet to adequately compensate for these differences. Still, there is positive momentum: In 2022, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany officially recognized multilingualism as a resource that should be more heavily promoted – for instance by providing better training for teachers or allowing multilingual children to use their ‘strongest’ language for research.