A majority of Germans support government plans to curb asylum immigration, a YouGov poll published Saturday showed.
The survey, conducted for the German news agency dpa, found that 53% of respondents back Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s aim of reducing the number of asylum seekers entering the country.
Another 23% said they would rather support the policy. Fifteen percent opposed it.
Dobrindt, who took office in May, has tightened border controls and authorized the rejection of asylum seekers at Germany’s borders, with exceptions for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and people with serious illnesses.
At the European Union level, he has pushed for stricter asylum rules, including the creation of “return centers” for people ordered to leave Germany before deportation.
Despite the measures, only 8% of respondents said they had noticed a clear shift in migration policy, while 42% said they saw no change.