Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday a court ruling that German authorities acted unlawfully when border police expelled three Somali asylum seekers could restrict his government's migration crackdown but would not stop it altogether.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday defended his government's migration crackdown as vital to "protect public safety", a day after a court ruled one of its flagship measures was illegal.

A Berlin court ruled that Germany’s controversial move to refuse entry to some asylum seekers is unlawful in a setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s tougher stance on migration.