Berlin’s districts that vote most heavily for the Greens and the Left accommodate the smallest shares of the city’s asylum seekers, while boroughs where the AfD enjoys stronger electoral support carry a disproportionate share of refugee housing, according to newly published figures from the city’s State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF).
The data, analysed by German outlet Junge Freiheit, show a striking mismatch between political support for pro-migration parties and the geographical distribution of state-run refugee accommodation.
In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, widely regarded as the symbol of Berlin’s “Refugees Welcome” culture, the Greens and the Left won a combined 54.6 per cent of the vote in the 2023 repeat state election. Yet the borough houses just 2.44 per cent of migrants living in Berlin’s state accommodation.
A similar pattern emerges in central Berlin. In Mitte, where the Greens and the Left together secured 43 per cent of the vote, the district accounts for only 4.19 per cent of migrants housed in state facilities.
By contrast, districts with comparatively weaker support for the Greens shoulder a much larger burden. Lichtenberg accommodates 13.07 per cent of migrants in Berlin’s state housing, while Marzahn-Hellersdorf accounts for 11.32 per cent. In the latter district, the Greens won just 5.5 per cent of the vote in 2023, compared with 19.2 per cent for the AfD.
One notable exception is Pankow, a politically mixed borough where the Greens remain one of the largest parties and where support for liberal migration policies has traditionally been high.
The district accommodates 15.29 per cent of migrants living in state facilities, making it one of Berlin’s biggest hosts for asylum accommodation.
That has fuelled growing local opposition. Residents and environmental groups in the Weißensee area of Pankow have launched petitions and protests against plans to establish another large refugee centre, arguing that local schools, childcare facilities and infrastructure are already under considerable strain.
Campaigners insist they are not opposed to refugees as such but say the district has reached its capacity and also warned of the loss of green space.
Three environmental organisations argue that species protection concerns — particularly regarding protected breeding birds and bats — had not been adequately addressed and filed an objection with the district office.
Similar resistance has emerged elsewhere in Berlin, including in the traditionally left-leaning district of Neukölln, where plans to convert an office building on Hasenheide into accommodation for more than 1,000 refugees and migrants have met opposition from local residents.
Komisch! Die Grünen wollen offene Grenzen aber die Asylbewerber bekommen dann AfD-Wähler vor die Nase gesetzt. pic.twitter.com/5lvWpcj1fa
— Henning Hoffgaard (@HenHoffgaard) July 10, 2026
