Vehicle shortages have turned promised deportation initiatives into “real-life satire,” according to union leader
Berlin police have been unable to carry out planned migrant deportations because of a shortage of functioning vehicles, Welt has reported, citing a police union warning about the German capital’s deteriorating fleet.
Several operations could not proceed as planned because officers simply did not have enough vehicles to collect people scheduled to be returned to their home countries, Frank Teichert, Berlin chairman of the German Police Union, told the newspaper.
The shortages have caused considerable frustration, turning every promised “deportation offensive” into “real-life satire” on the ground, he said.
Some 159 of Berlin’s 3,304 police vehicles have been unavailable because of workshop work, according to a parliamentary inquiry. Teichert also said more than half the fleet meets at least one criterion for replacement.
The problems stem from years of underfunding, Benjamin Jendro, a police union spokesman, said. Officers regularly encounter worn brakes, seat belts, buckles and interiors, while the vehicle budget remains at 2016–17 levels despite higher prices and increased demand.
The problems also extend to the fire service, where vehicle shortages force neighboring stations to cover calls, increasing travel distances and response times, according to the firefighters’ union. External repair costs have also risen from around €4.7 million in 2024 to nearly €8 million last year.
Berlin’s interior administration maintains that reserve vehicles ensure operational readiness, while acknowledging that limited funding and rising procurement costs are hampering efforts to replace aging equipment.
The failures come despite Germany’s promises to tighten migration controls, expand border checks and accelerate deportations. Growing public frustration over immigration, housing shortages, and subsequent pressure on public services has continued to fuel mass protests in recent months both in Germany and across the EU.
European governments have pledged faster removals, but implementation has continued to lag. EU countries issued around 110,000 deportation orders in the second quarter of 2026, while fewer than 37,000 people were actually removed from the bloc, according to Eurostat. Missing documents, legal challenges and receiving countries’ refusal to cooperate have remained obstacles to deportation.
