Open Letter

Mayor Martin Horn | Social Mayor Ulrich von Kirchbach | Factions and members in the Freiburg municipal council

Stop the payment card for refugees! | No payment cards in Freiburg and elsewhere!

Second letter to the city of Freiburg | Dear Mayor Horn, Dear Social Mayor of Kirchbach, Dear Members of the Freiburg Municipal Council,

We are writing to you again and urge you to take a stand against the introduction of a mandatory authoritarian payment card for refugees in Freiburg. We do not demand any further interference with the social rights of refugees.

According to a response from the Ministry of Justice and Migration (Landtag printed matter 17/7227 response August 23, 2024), the payment card should be introduced “for all those entitled to benefits under the AsylbLG - including for people who already have a German bank account.” Another The ministry’s answer (state parliament printed matter 17/7132 - answer August 9, 2024) shows that “the mayor’s offices of the urban districts and “the district offices” “act as lower administrative authorities” when the authoritarian payment card was introduced. “The state government intends to introduce the payment card across the board.” Baden-Württemberg wants to spend the most money of all federal states on the planned “widespread introduction” of the payment card.

The authoritarian payment card significantly restricts the autonomy of those entitled to benefits. The consequences of the payment card will be interference with freedom of action, self-determination and the basic right to a humane minimum subsistence level. The guarantee of data protection is also very questionable.

In initial reception centers, the payment card will lead to further restrictions. In a resolution of the Conference of Independent Federal and State Data Protection Supervisory Authorities dated August 19, 2024, among other things: It was found that neither the authorities are allowed to inspect the balance of the payment card nor to impose a blanket restriction on postal code areas.

Even if the introduction of the authoritarian payment card according to the Refugee Admission Act does not fall under the responsibility of local self-government, the city of Freiburg is responsible for it at the administrative level. The local council can make a symbolic resolution against the payment card and, in negotiations with the state, ensure that the introduction of the payment card is left to the city and districts. This is the minimum that the Freiburg municipal council is obliged to do towards a city that shows solidarity.

According to the Refugee Admission Act §2 (4), the lower administrative authority (districts) is responsible for the administrative acts it issues in the area of the Asylum Seekers Reading Act.

The local authorities are therefore obliged to justify the use of the payment card in each individual case. A written hearing must be held for this purpose. A notice of change must be issued and there will be objections and lawsuits. The authorities will have to bear all of this administrative work if, as planned, the country has an authoritarian payment card for all refugees.

We call on you as a group in the Freiburg municipal council to speak out against the introduction of a payment card. The payment card is and remains an exclusionary project. The introduction of the payment card stigmatizes those affected and only promotes one thing: exclusion and racism in this country.

We call on you as mayor, as social mayor and as city councilors

City of Freiburg: Take a stand against the introduction of payment cards!

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