With less than four weeks before Germany’s federal election, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who is leading polls, will take their contentious battle over how to crack down on illegal migration to parliament.

The German Bundestag passed Friedrich Merz's five-point migration plan — which promised a dramatic tightening of the country's migration and asylum law — through parliament. MPs narrowly voted in favour of turning away asylum seekers and other migrants back at Germany's borders — despite criticism that this could break both German and EU asylum law.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused rival Friedrich Merz of breaking a taboo by aligning migration views with right-wing Alternative for Germany. With elections nearing, Merz seeks to win back votes by proposing stricter border controls and parliamentary motions on migration,

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz on Wednesday defended his controversial migration reforms after stinging criticism from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, ahead of votes on two motions that could pass with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

German opposition conservative leader Friedrich Merz said he regrets that plans to reject more asylum seekers at Germany's borders may have passed in parliament on Wednesday with the help of votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).