When the Regulated Become the Regulators

When a state surrenders the right to decide who may cross its borders and remain within them, it abandons one of its most essential sovereign functions. In Germany, this surrender is no longer merely theoretical; it has become everyday administrative practice.

Recent investigative reporting from Apollo News reveals that local immigration offices routinely employ foreign nationals to rule on the residence rights—and in some cases, naturalization applications—of other foreign nationals. In Hamburg alone, thirty-seven non-German citizens serve in such roles, including thirteen EU nationals and twenty-four third-country citizens. Crucially, fourteen of these caseworkers do not even possess a permanent residence permit themselves. In Munich’s immigration service center, non-Germans make up nearly one-fifth of the entire staff.

When questioned, regional authorities blithely point to legal loopholes and argue that technical qualification is all that matters. The potential for severe conflicts of interest is treated as a non-issue, leaving these employees to operate without additional oversight or restriction. Yet the risks inherent in this setup are far from hypothetical. A report by Junge Freiheit documented the case of an Afghan employee at the Dortmund migration office who allegedly forged residence titles and travel papers in at least two dozen instances to facilitate entry for individuals from Afghanistan.

The root of this practice lies in systemic administrative collapse. Between late 2020 and late 2025, the number of individuals applying for residence titles in Germany surged from 411,000 to over 953,000. Meanwhile, holders of temporary residence permits swelled by 67 percent, reaching 4.3 million. Overwhelmed by this sheer volume, municipal authorities appear to have abandoned strict vetting procedures for their own staff, hiring almost anyone capable of processing basic administrative files.

Under the German Basic Law, sovereign state powers are meant to be exercised by civil servants who stand in a formal public-law relationship of loyalty to the state and its citizenry. Treating this requirement as obsolete or discriminatory—a position predictably favored by the Social Democrats, Greens, and the Left Party—signals a profound devaluation of citizenship itself. Delegating the power to grant residency and citizenship to non-citizens does not represent progress. It simply demonstrates a bureaucracy that has chosen convenience over statehood.

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com