Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg
Project Anchor Center
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The complex asylum procedures are often overwhelming, especially for newly arrived refugees. In order to help asylum seekers exercise their rights, the Refugee Law Clinic Regensburg (RLCR) offers weekly hearing preparations in the so-called “ANKER Center” on Zeißstrasse in Regensburg.
The interview is a central part of the asylum procedure and is often the deciding factor in whether an asylum application is successful or not. At the hearing, asylum seekers describe their reasons for fleeing to employees of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Based on this survey, a decision on the asylum application is made. The problem is that asylum seekers often neither know what the hearing is like nor know their rights. This can e.g. lead to important reasons for fleeing remaining unmentioned, problems in communication with the interpreters not being noted, or the minutes of the hearing, which are extremely relevant for the further course of the procedure, not being read thoroughly and, if necessary, improved before they are signed.
RLCR volunteers therefore speak to asylum seekers in advance about the most important aspects of the interview and try to prepare the refugees as best as possible for the sometimes lengthy and strenuous interview. If time allows, individual reasons for fleeing can also be addressed in preparation. In order for the hearing preparation to be successful, the RLCR is supported by volunteer interpreters in the ANKER center.
What is our area of responsibility in the anchor center?
Anchor centers, an abbreviation for "arrival, decision-making and return facilities," are special facilities in Bavaria that were set up as part of the German asylum policy. These centers play a central role in dealing with asylum seekers and refugees and serve various purposes in the asylum process. Asylum seekers are initially accommodated in anchor centers after entering Germany in order to clarify their identity, carry out medical examinations and carry out an initial assessment of their protection needs. These facilities allow authorities to make asylum procedures more efficient and to concentrate the stay of asylum seekers in one place in order to ease bureaucratic processes. Furthermore, anchor centers serve as decision-making facilities in which the legal examination of asylum applications takes place. This process includes checking the individual reasons for fleeing and checking whether the person in question is entitled to protection in accordance with German and European asylum law. A key feature of anchor centers is their role as return facilities. If an asylum application is rejected and there is no prospect of protection in Germany, rejected asylum seekers can be deported from here to their countries of origin or other safe third countries.
The establishment of anchor centers was and is the subject of political discussions and public debates. Proponents argue that they help speed up the asylum process and ensure more efficient management of asylum applications. Opponents, on the other hand, often criticize anchor centers on humanitarian grounds, particularly with regard to the living conditions and restrictions on freedom that asylum seekers experience in these facilities. In Bavaria and other federal states in Germany, anchor centers are part of the overall structure of asylum policy and are intended to overcome the challenges of accepting and integrating refugees. The facilities are subject to state supervision and are of considerable legal importance in the context of the German asylum procedure.