Bavaria’s far-right AfD proposes ICE-style immigration unit despite agency’s controversial record

BAVARIA (MNTV) – Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party in Bavaria is seeking to establish a specialized police unit modeled on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising concerns given ICE’s track record of deadly force and harsh tactics under the Trump administration.

Internal documents obtained by media outlets reveal the proposal, though AfD parliamentary group leader Katrin Ebner-Steiner initially deflected questions about the American agency serving as a template. 

The concept paper only surfaced after repeated requests for documentation following a recent winter conference.

The timing proves problematic. ICE has faced mounting criticism over recent fatal incidents, including the January shooting death of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti, who was killed seconds after being chemically sprayed and thrown onto frozen ground. 

Days earlier, Renee Good was fatally shot while sitting in her car, with Trump’s administration barring local investigators from examining the death. 

A separate Minnesota operation sparked protests when officers detained a five-year-old boy alongside his father, while another detained individual reportedly died from strangulation in custody.

Beyond the deportation unit, Bavaria’s AfD proposes mandatory community service for all asylum seekers, evening curfews justified as public safety measures, and removing immigrant children struggling with German from mainstream schools into separate institutions where religious education would be replaced with “cultural education and values education.”

Bavarian AfD’s history of right-wing extremism

The Bavarian AfD has operated under surveillance as a suspected right-wing extremist organization since 2022, with Munich’s Administrative Court upholding this classification in 2024 after finding evidence of efforts against Germany’s democratic order. 

Authorities cited the party’s ethno-cultural nationalism, anti-foreigner and anti-Muslim positions, systematic disparagement of state institutions, and promotion of “remigration” policies targeting even German citizens with immigrant backgrounds.

Multiple party functionaries maintain ties to the extremist Identitarian Movement and its leader Martin Sellner. 

Individual legislators face surveillance for potential anti-constitutional activities serving as links between the AfD and far-right networks.

The party secured approximately 19% in Bavaria’s 2025 federal election, doubling its 2021 performance to become the state’s second-strongest political force.