Foreigners and Immigrants in Hesse Germany: Current Situation and Integration Policy(in Japanese)

Postwar Germany accepted a large number of workers, especially from Turkey, Italy, and Greece, in the course of the "German Wirtschaftswunder," or "Economic Miracle." After the ban on recruitment in 1973, the inflow of foreign workers to Germany decreased; however, due to the inflow of the summoned families and refugees, among others, the overall number of foreigners increased. On 1 January 2005, a new immigration law took effect. One of the most important contents of the new law is the issue of integration. In Germany, a "Parallel Society" that is alienated from mainstream German society has come into existence, and people understand that integrating immigrants is essential because there is a strong probability that a "Parallel Society" could threaten German society in the future. The state of Hesse has been actively working on the integration of immigrants since 1999, before other states in Germany. This paper gives a brief overview of the history, the current situation as well as the background of foreigners and immigrants in Germany, followed by a discussion of the current situation of foreigners and immigrants in Hesse, and the concrete policy and measures that were applied in this state.