Germany Announces Emergency Border Controls Amid Migrant Crisis

Germany announced on Sunday that it was invoking emergency powers to start protecting its borders, seemingly reaching a point of overload after greeting with open arms tens of thousands of migrants pouring into Europe, and urging other European nations to do the same. Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière announced the decision to impose temporary controls on Germany’s southern border with Austria, after thousands of migrants have crossed over in recent weeks. The emergency measures, which are said to be temporary, would presumably allow Germany to turn away migrants from the Balkans and other areas whose citizens are not fleeing war or persecution.