Contesting the Dublin Regulation: Refugees’ and Migrants’ Claims to Personhood and Rights in Germany

Abstract

This study demonstrates how an EU law, Dublin 111, affects a heterogeneous group of refugees and migrants in Germany who first enter the EU through States such as Italy, Spain, or Hungary.  The Dublin regulation allows refugees (with the exception of refugees from Syria) solely to make asylum-claims in the EU country through which they first enter and where they are initially fingerprinted. Therefore, if authorities find asylum-seekers’ fingerprints in the database and can thus confirm that they have been in another EU Member State, then according to the Dublin regulation,  they can be deported to the first country. The study illustrates the ways in which many refugees and migrants in Germany negotiate the Dublin law in differentiated ways, which subsequently enables them to claim their rights to personhood and dignity.   More specifically, this study interrogates how some refugees are affected by the Dublin legislation and how they negotiate this law.  This group of refugees have varied status in Germany – some have claimed asylum, some fear imminent deportations, others have not claimed asylum within Germany, while there are others who are in the process of ‘getting out of Dublin’.  The study explores how these refugees with differing positions, status, and background negotiate their stay and personhood in Germany.