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Germany's Hesse Proposes Phone Tracking to Stop Deportation Evasion

A controversial proposal could reshape deportation enforcement—but at what cost to privacy? Authorities say current laws leave them powerless to act.

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The image shows a group of people sitting on the ground next to each other, some wearing caps and...
The image shows a group of people sitting on the ground next to each other, some wearing caps and masks, while two police officers stand nearby. In the background, there is a wall with something written on it, suggesting that the scene is taking place in a city. The people appear to be migrants, as they are being detained by the police.

Hesse's Interior Minister Poseck Calls for Cell Phone Tracking to Secure Deportations - Germany's Hesse Proposes Phone Tracking to Stop Deportation Evasion

Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) has called for the use of mobile phone tracking and surveillance to locate individuals subject to deportation ahead of planned removals. He argued that "a legal basis for short-term investigative measures such as mobile phone tracking and surveillance of individuals evading deportation would be sensible," Poseck stated on Thursday in Wiesbaden. He plans to propose a corresponding initiative at the next interior ministers' conference of the federal and state governments.

Poseck emphasized that authorities "should be able to use technical means to locate individuals required to leave the country who are evading deportation measures." He stressed that this was necessary to "enforce prepared deportations and return individuals to their countries of origin, even if they are not at their registered address on the day of removal." The most common reason for failed deportations, he noted, is the inability to locate the individuals in question.

"As is well known, deportation custody is only possible under very limited circumstances, meaning there is always uncertainty about whether a person scheduled for deportation will actually be found at their registered address," Poseck explained. Current residence laws do not provide a legal framework for tracking mobile phones or conducting surveillance, he added. "We should establish one," he urged, "to put a stop to deliberate attempts to evade deportation."

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