BERLIN

German authorities on Monday deported 50 Iraqi nationals whose asylum applications had been rejected.

A chartered deportation flight took off from the city of Hannover Monday morning, Bild newspaper reported, citing security sources.

The national debate over migration has grown more intense ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections, sparked by several violent incidents involving foreign nationals without legal status.

On Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that his Social Democrats (SPD) would strengthen their approach to managing irregular migration — accelerating deportations while establishing legal channels for skilled immigrants.

Official figures show that more than 220,000 foreigners in Germany lack legal status, including rejected asylum seekers who are required to leave the country.

However, deportations to countries like Syria and Afghanistan face significant legal and practical obstacles, making them nearly impossible to execute.

Right-wing parties have focused their election campaigns on migration policy, deportation failures and recent violent incidents. The far-right AfD party's co-chair Alice Weidel announced Sunday that if her party wins the upcoming election, they would implement permanent border controls and carry out deportations more aggressively.

The anti-immigrant AfD currently polls at around 20%, positioning it to become the second-largest party after the Feb. 23 elections. However, it will likely remain outside any coalition government, as all other parties have refused to cooperate with the right-wing extremists.

The center-right CDU/CSU alliance, led by Friedrich Merz, holds a commanding lead with 30%, according to recent surveys. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) stands at 16%, with their coalition partner, the Greens, at 14%.

Though the CDU/CSU alliance leads the polls, they will need to form a coalition government to secure a majority in the parliament. Merz has not yet indicated whether he would prefer to partner with the SPD or the Greens.