Berlin, January 11 (RHC)-- German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she supports legal modifications to make it easier to deport refugees who commit crimes in Germany.

Merkel made the remark during a meeting in the wake of a string of sexual assaults against young women in the city of Cologne during New Year's festivities. Some of those accused of the harassment are said to be asylum seekers.

At least 120 women have told police they were sexually assaulted or robbed by a gang of men "of North African or Arab appearance" near Cologne's main train station on New Year's Eve. Among the women, two were reportedly raped.

The German police say at least 31 people have been arrested in connection with the sexual assaults in Cologne.

Under existing laws in Germany, refugees are only forcibly deported if they have been sentenced to jail terms of at least three years, and if their lives are not in danger in their countries of origin. Some people in Germany have criticized Merkel's open-door policy toward asylum seekers.

More than one million refugees, mostly from crisis-hit countries in the Middle East and North Africa, entered Germany in 2015.