German minister wants Residence Act to allow phone surveillance

The CDU minister in Hesse says the German government should be given authority to track and surveil the mobile phones of people facing deportation who cannot be found.

Hesse minister supports tracking migrants’ phones

Hesse’s Interior Minister, Roman Poseck (CDU), has suggested that the German government be given permission to track and surveil the mobile phones of people who are awaiting deportation and cannot be found.

“[The German Residence Act] (Aufenthaltsgesetz) currently contains no legal basis for tracking mobile phones or surveilling individuals. We should create this,” Poseck said, according to Tagesschau.

There are limited legal means for German police to detain someone who is awaiting deportation. “The most common reason for the failure of a repatriation is that the person cannot be found,” Poseck added.

Poseck will present his policy suggestion at the Interior Minister Conference in Hamburg between June 17 and 19, 2026.

Refugee Council condemns “surveillance state fantasies”

Managing Director of the Refugee Council (Flüchtlingsrat) in Hesse, Timmo Schrenberg, condemned Poseck’s suggestions as “wild fantasies of a surveillance state”. 

According to the Flüchtlingsrat, fewer than half of refugees have “gone into hiding” when they are taken in custody shortly before a deportation flight is scheduled to leave; if they are not at home, many are shopping or at work.

Jochen Kopelke, head of the German Police Union (GdP), also rejected Poseck’s suggestion. Speaking to rnd, Kopelke said the policy would be a “perfidious manhunt” inspired by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in the United States.

“The immigration authorities and the Federal Office for Migration must finally resolve their own enforcement deficits and stop misusing the police for surveillance and mobile phone tracking,” Kopelke said. 

Police in Germany are only allowed to surveil telecommunications if someone is suspected of a serious crime, such as murder, money laundering or child abuse. In all cases, the police must first obtain a warrant from a judge.

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