German migrant groups urge action as AfD eyes first state govt

Representatives of Germany's migrant communities have called on the government to come up with a concrete plan on how to protect minorities in case the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) manages to take charge of a state government for the first time.

The anti-immigrant AfD narrowly missed out on an absolute majority in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt last month, putting it in its best-ever position to lead a state government.

While all main parties have ruled out governing with the nationalist party, the AfD is currently in talks with the small populist BSW to secure the support needed to form the first far-right state government since World War II.

The AfD has pledged to carry out a massive deportation drive in Saxony-Anhalt if it manages to take control of the state, although such plans would face significant legal hurdles.

Germany's 16 federal states have widespread powers in areas including education and security, but migration policy is decided by the national government.

In a letter published on Monday, migrant organizations, including the Turkish Community in Germany, warned that minorities, including Muslims, Jews and members of the LGBTQ+ community, had reported a sharp rise in "rejection and hatred on a scale not seen for a long time" since the AfD's election victory.

LAMSA, an organization representing migrants across Saxony-Anhalt, has recorded 85 cases of racist threats so far this year, more than in the whole of 2025, according to the letter.

Employees of other organizations have reported receiving hate mail and threats, as well as being verbally abused on the phone and in the street, it said.

The signatories called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the leaders of German's federal states to set up a commission tasked with identifying the potential risks to minorities in Saxony-Anhalt posed by an AfD government and devising countermeasures.

They also called asylum seekers to be allowed to move to another state if they fear becoming subject to racist attacks. Under German migrant law, applicants are obliged to live in the state where they have filed for asylum.

In addition, signatories called on the federal government to set up a protection fund to support charities, associations, advice centres, local communities and initiatives that are under threat from racism - for example, by helping them to develop contingency plans.