German Interior Ministry data reveals that foreign nationals account for more than 87% of people sought under outstanding arrest warrants, prompting demands for stronger border enforcement and a dispute among lawmakers over the seriousness of the offenses and how the figures should be interpreted.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
BERLIN — More than 148,000 people are listed as wanted under outstanding arrest warrants in Germany, with foreign nationals accounting for 87.3% of those sought, according to federal government figures released in response to a parliamentary inquiry. The findings have intensified debate over immigration enforcement, public safety and the ability of German police to locate individuals wanted by judicial authorities.
The figures, provided by Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior to Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Sebastian Münzenmaier, show that just 11.2% of people with outstanding warrants hold exclusively German citizenship. Another 1.5% possess German citizenship alongside at least one other nationality.
The statistics were first reported by the German newspaper Welt, which obtained the ministry’s response. The figures cover individuals recorded as wanted under arrest warrants, rather than all criminal suspects or all people convicted of offenses in Germany.
The nationality breakdown has attracted particular attention because German citizens constitute the overwhelming majority of the country’s population. Approximately 81% of residents hold exclusively German citizenship, while non-German nationals and dual citizens make up the remainder.
German-only citizens nevertheless represent the largest single nationality category among those sought, with 16,671 individuals. Romanian nationals follow closely, accounting for 16,123 people, while Polish nationals represent another 12,721.
The figures also identify 6,869 Georgian nationals and 6,696 Turkish nationals among those subject to outstanding warrants. These numbers place several foreign nationalities among the largest groups recorded in the government’s database.
The figures were independently summarized in an Oct. 9 Euronews report, which confirmed the percentages disclosed by the Interior Ministry.
The government data does not establish that all individuals are currently hiding inside Germany or that every warrant concerns a violent offense. Arrest warrants may remain active against people who have left the country, including those who were deported, and can relate to the enforcement of previously imposed sentences or unpaid criminal fines.
Nevertheless, the number of unresolved warrants has raised concerns across several political parties about whether law enforcement agencies have sufficient personnel and resources to locate wanted individuals.
Münzenmaier, whose parliamentary inquiry prompted the disclosure, called for substantial changes to Germany’s border security and immigration enforcement policies.
“The figures speak for themselves: The overwhelming majority of criminals wanted on arrest warrants do not have a German passport,” Münzenmaier told Welt am Sonntag.
The AfD lawmaker described the results as evidence supporting a “rigorous change of course” in immigration and criminal justice policy.
He called for permanent and comprehensive border controls, the termination of residency rights for foreign nationals convicted of crimes and expanded arrangements allowing offenders to serve prison sentences in their countries of origin.
Such measures would require consideration of German law, European Union rules, international agreements and applicable protections governing deportation and prisoner transfers.
The AfD has repeatedly advocated stricter immigration enforcement and expanded removals of foreign nationals convicted of criminal offenses. The party argues that Germany’s immigration policies have contributed to public safety problems and placed additional pressure on law enforcement agencies.
The latest figures have provided another point of contention in that debate, although the nationality distribution among outstanding warrants does not independently establish the causes of criminal behavior or demonstrate that immigration status explains the pattern.
The unusually high proportion of foreign nationals among those wanted may reflect several factors, including differences in residency, mobility across European borders, the circumstances under which warrants are issued and whether individuals remain available to German authorities.
Other political parties have acknowledged the scale of the problem while offering different approaches to enforcement.
Alexander Throm, the domestic-policy spokesman for the Christian Democratic Union parliamentary group, called the number of outstanding warrants a public safety concern.
“Every open arrest warrant poses a security risk,” Throm said.
He argued that the nationality breakdown demonstrates the importance of identifying and locating individuals wanted by German authorities, particularly those who may be traveling between European countries.
“The high proportion of foreign offenders, including many from other EU countries, shows that action must be taken,” Throm added.
The participation of Romanian and Polish nationals in the figures is particularly relevant to cross-border law enforcement because both countries are members of the European Union.
Citizens of EU member states generally benefit from freedom of movement within the bloc, subject to legal restrictions. That mobility can complicate efforts to locate individuals with outstanding warrants when they move between jurisdictions.
European law enforcement agencies use cooperation mechanisms, including the Schengen Information System and European Arrest Warrants, to identify wanted individuals and facilitate arrests across national borders.
Those mechanisms, however, depend on authorities locating the individuals concerned and establishing the legal grounds for detention or transfer.
Throm argued that Germany’s expanded border controls have helped police identify people subject to outstanding warrants.
Germany began introducing additional checks at its land borders in September 2024, initially describing the measures as necessary to address irregular migration and security concerns.
According to Throm, the operations have resulted in more than 17,500 people with outstanding arrest warrants being apprehended at German borders since the controls began.
“They have not only curbed illegal migration. Since their start in September 2024, over 17,500 people have also been apprehended at our borders with outstanding arrest warrants,” he said.
The figure illustrates the role border checks can play in identifying wanted individuals, although it does not establish how many would otherwise have avoided arrest or whether the operations represent the most efficient use of available police resources.
Border enforcement has remained politically contentious within Germany and the European Union.
Supporters argue that additional checks provide opportunities to detect individuals wanted for criminal offenses, identify unauthorized entry and strengthen security.
Critics question whether broadly applied inspections are sufficiently targeted and warn that extended border controls can interfere with travel, transportation and the EU’s principle of free movement.
The debate also involves the practical ability of German police forces to act on the large number of outstanding warrants already recorded in national databases.
Heiko Teggatz, chairman of the German Police Union, said the total represents a serious challenge for law enforcement.
The number “of course, represents a security policy problem,” Teggatz told Welt.
He said police departments frequently lack the personnel required to organize dedicated searches for individuals with outstanding warrants.
As a result, many arrests occur during routine police operations, traffic stops, identity checks or other encounters unrelated to an investigation into the wanted person.
Teggatz described such apprehensions as a “chance hit or bycatch,” reflecting the role of incidental encounters in resolving outstanding cases.
The union has repeatedly warned that personnel shortages limit the ability of police departments to conduct proactive investigations and locate suspects who do not come into contact with law enforcement during ordinary patrol activities.
Dedicated search operations can require officers to investigate addresses, contact relatives or associates, review travel information and coordinate with authorities in other jurisdictions.
When large numbers of warrants remain active, police must prioritize cases according to their seriousness, available evidence and the likelihood of locating the individual.
The challenge is especially significant when suspects have left Germany or regularly travel between countries, requiring cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies.
Marcel Emmerich, the Green Party’s domestic-policy spokesman, agreed that the number of unresolved warrants required attention.
He said outstanding cases were particularly concerning when they involved dangerous individuals, extremists or people suspected or convicted of violent and sexual offenses.
The situation was especially serious, he said, “when it comes to dangerous persons, extremists, violent or sex offenders.”
However, Emmerich rejected the suggestion that expanded general border controls were the most effective response.
“Instead of hoping for random hits at border controls, targeted searches are needed, especially for dangerous perpetrators of violence, threats and people from the field of politically motivated crime,” he said.
His position reflects a preference for intelligence-led investigations and targeted law enforcement operations rather than relying primarily on screening travelers at border crossings.
Such an approach would concentrate resources on identifying and locating individuals considered most dangerous or most likely to evade arrest.
The different positions illustrate a dispute over how authorities should prioritize enforcement, rather than whether outstanding warrants represent an issue requiring police attention.
Social Democratic Party lawmaker Sebastian Fiedler, who serves as his party’s domestic-policy spokesman in the Bundestag, cautioned against interpreting the full figure as evidence that more than 148,000 dangerous criminals are currently at large within Germany.
Fiedler said many outstanding warrants involve substitute prison sentences imposed when individuals fail to pay criminal fines.
Under German law, certain unpaid criminal fines can result in substitute imprisonment, known as Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe. Courts may issue enforcement warrants when a person fails to comply with the sentence and cannot otherwise be located or brought into custody.
Such cases can involve offenses less serious than violent crimes, although they still represent enforceable legal obligations.
Fiedler noted that in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, more than half of all outstanding arrest warrants were connected to substitute imprisonment for unpaid fines.
That distinction is important because the category of outstanding warrants includes a range of circumstances that are not equivalent in terms of severity or public danger.
An individual wanted to serve a substitute sentence for an unpaid fine is not in the same legal or public safety position as someone sought in connection with murder, sexual assault or terrorism.
The aggregate figures released by the Interior Ministry do not provide a complete offense-by-offense breakdown in the reporting examined, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn about the seriousness of the cases.
Fiedler also explained that outstanding warrants can remain in national and international databases after individuals have departed Germany.
Some people may have voluntarily returned to another country, while others may have been removed through immigration enforcement.
If an outstanding sentence remains enforceable, the warrant may continue to appear in law enforcement systems so police can act if the person later returns.
“For example, they will continue to be put out to tender for a search so that if they re-enter the country, a remaining prison sentence can be enforced,” Fiedler said.
The practice means that the total of 148,000 people cannot be treated as a count of individuals currently present in Germany and evading police.
The nationality figures nevertheless have entered a broader debate about crime and migration.
Germany’s 2025 police crime statistics, published by the Federal Criminal Police Office, recorded a disproportionate share of non-German suspects in several categories of reported offenses.
According to an analysis of the 2025 crime figures, non-German nationals accounted for approximately 41% of suspects in violent crime cases, 38% in murder cases and 48% in robbery cases.
Foreign nationals represent a substantially smaller proportion of Germany’s resident population, making the differences a subject of continuing political and criminological debate.
Those figures, however, measure police-recorded suspects rather than individuals convicted in court. They also cover different offenses and populations from the outstanding arrest warrant statistics.
Factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic circumstances, urban residence, legal status and exposure to police investigations can influence crime statistics. Some recorded suspects may also be visitors or people without registered residence in Germany.
Consequently, a comparison of nationality percentages alone cannot establish why particular groups appear more frequently in criminal records.
The distinction between foreign nationality and migration background is also relevant.
German police statistics generally classify individuals according to citizenship. A naturalized German citizen is ordinarily recorded as German, regardless of birthplace or family background.
The same principle applies to individuals holding German citizenship alongside another nationality, although the Interior Ministry’s newly disclosed warrant figures separately identify dual citizens as a category.
These classifications can complicate comparisons between statistics produced by different government agencies or collected for different purposes.
The latest parliamentary response specifically separates people holding exclusively German citizenship, those with German and another citizenship, and those classified as foreign nationals.
That breakdown provides additional detail about the nationality of wanted individuals but does not identify all their immigration histories, countries of residence or circumstances surrounding their warrants.
Germany has experienced significant immigration over the past decade, including the arrival of asylum seekers, workers and people displaced by the war in Ukraine.
The country’s population also includes substantial communities of EU citizens who have moved to Germany under the bloc’s freedom-of-movement rules.
Romanian and Polish nationals are among the larger foreign populations in Germany, making their representation among outstanding warrants relevant to understanding cross-border law enforcement requirements.
The figures alone do not establish individual offending rates for those nationalities without accounting for population size, age distribution, residency and the specific types of warrants involved.
The government’s response has nevertheless prompted calls for greater transparency concerning the individuals being sought and the circumstances in which arrest warrants remain unresolved.
Lawmakers from several parties have identified the need to distinguish between cases involving serious violence and those related to less severe offenses or unpaid fines.
Such information could help police departments allocate resources and allow policymakers to evaluate whether existing enforcement methods are adequately addressing the most urgent threats.
The issue also raises questions about coordination between German authorities and law enforcement agencies in neighboring countries.
Because many wanted individuals are foreign nationals, locating them may require exchanging information across borders, verifying identities and determining whether they remain subject to German jurisdiction.
In cases involving EU citizens, authorities may rely on established judicial cooperation procedures. For individuals who have returned to countries outside the European Union, extradition or prisoner-transfer arrangements may involve additional legal complications.
German law also imposes restrictions on removing certain foreign nationals, particularly where deportation would violate constitutional protections, European human rights obligations or international agreements.
Münzenmaier’s proposal to require foreign offenders to serve sentences in their countries of origin would therefore depend on agreements with those states and compliance with applicable legal requirements.
Other lawmakers have focused on improving the ability of domestic police departments to locate wanted individuals before they leave the country or while they remain within Germany.
The police union’s concerns about staffing add another dimension to the dispute. Even when authorities possess valid warrants and sufficient legal powers, investigations can remain unresolved if officers lack the time or resources to pursue individual cases.
The large number of outstanding warrants may consequently reflect a combination of law enforcement capacity, judicial procedures, cross-border movement and differences in the seriousness of underlying offenses.
The available figures do not establish how many warrants concern violent crimes, how many individuals are currently in Germany or how many cases remain unresolved because the people involved have left the country.
Those limitations have become central to the political disagreement following the Interior Ministry’s disclosure.
The AfD has cited the nationality breakdown as evidence supporting stricter immigration and border enforcement. CDU officials have emphasized security risks and the results of existing border checks, while Green lawmakers have called for more targeted investigations.
Social Democrats have cautioned that the total includes numerous cases unrelated to serious violence and individuals who may no longer reside in Germany.
Despite those differences, the parties have acknowledged that unresolved arrest warrants require attention from police and judicial authorities.
The figures provide a snapshot of the scale of Germany’s outstanding warrant system and the substantial representation of foreign nationals among those sought.
They also highlight the importance of distinguishing nationality statistics from broader conclusions about criminality, particularly when the underlying cases range from unpaid fines to potentially serious offenses.
With more than 148,000 individuals recorded as wanted, German authorities face continuing questions about how to locate people subject to judicial orders, prioritize dangerous offenders and coordinate enforcement across national borders.
The government’s disclosure has brought those questions into sharper focus, placing police resources, border security and the enforcement of criminal sentences at the center of Germany’s latest debate over public safety and immigration policy.
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