Around 35,000 people have been refused entry at Germany's borders since May 2025, the Interior Ministry reported on Monday.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stiffened border controls a year ago immediately after Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government took power.
Dobrindt instructed the federal police, who are responsible for border checks, to reject asylum-seekers, with the exception of the sick, pregnant women and those in need of special assistance.
Previously, only those without an application for asylum and foreign citizens subject to a block on re-entry had been turned away.
The federal police recorded 47,659 illegal entries since May 8 last year. Of these, 294 people from vulnerable groups made applications for asylum, while 1,415 people-smugglers and 8,842 people subject to an arrest warrant were detained.
In addition, police found 1,581 political extremists, while the rest were turned back at the border.
Dobrindt has repeatedly defended the stricter measures as an indication of changed migration policy and as a major blow against people-smuggling gangs.
In April, the number of asylum applications fell for the first time by comparison with the same month last year. The change is in line with a European trend. Dobrindt is looking to reform in the EU's migration system before lifting border controls.
The new Common European Asylum System (CEAS) goes into force on June 12. Most EU countries, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland belong to the Schengen free travel area in which border controls were largely abolished.
