Berlin, December 2 (RHC)--Thousands of foreigners who sought asylum in Germany before leaving the country subsequently returned to apply again, government data shows.  Hundreds tried five times or more.

The subject of unwelcome foreigners coming back despite the government’s best efforts to get rid of them is topical in Germany at the moment.  Last week, a court ordered the expulsion of Ibrahim Miri, a criminal leader of Lebanese origin who sought asylum in Germany despite having been deported just months earlier. After landing back in Beirut, Miri pledged to come back to Germany and try for a third time.

Mii's case stands out somewhat, but is hardly isolated.  In fact, government figures show that there are currently 28,283 people seeking asylum in Germany despite having left the country at least once either voluntarily or as part of a deportation process.  This year, 3,243 returnees re-applied for asylum.

That figure does not include Miri, who came with his parents as a 13-year-old long before 2012, the earliest year of the data sample.  But it does include some individuals who share the gangster’s resolve to live in Germany. Of over 28,000 returnees, 4,916 applied for asylum for a third time and 1,023 for a fourth time. Five or more attempts have been made by 294 petitioners.

The data reported by Welt am Sonntag, the Sunday edition of Die Welt daily, was released by the federal government in response to a request by Martin Sichert, the chair of the Bavarian branch of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.  The government did not detail how many of the returnees had been deported in the past, as opposed to leaving of their own volition.

The AfD is not alone in believing that tougher measures are necessary to deal with people who return to Germany despite being deported.  Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who is also the leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), said people who violate a re-entry ban like Miri did need to be kept in custody while their cases are re-examined.  At the moment, the German law allows for detention for several months in such cases, but even that measure is rarely used.