Does refugee equal refugee? – Differential treatment of Syrian and Ukrainian refugees in German parliamentary discourse and implications

In 2022, Germany implemented new policies for Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the Russian invasion, facilitating their access to employment, housing and education, among others. Even though refugee rights advocates had pleaded for benevolent refugee policies as such for many years, they subsequently criticized the discrimination of other refugee groups (such as Syrian refugees) who were, and still are, facing bureaucratic hurdles to successful integration that Ukrainian refugees are now exempt from. Remarkably, these policy advancements, backed up by broad societal welcoming initiatives, happened against the backdrop of rising anti-migrant sentiments in Germany and significant success for right-wing parties in the years since 2015. This study examines the differential racialized construction of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees in the German parliamentary discourse as one possible reason for this discrepancy. Employing a critical discourse analysis approach, the study consists of the analysis of 15 parliamentary debates from 2017 to 2022 and addresses two key questions: How does the German parliamentary discourse construct Ukrainian and Syrian refugee subjects, respectively? And to what extent might racialized constructions have contributed to constructing some refugees as more "deserving" of assistance than others? The findings point to the impact of racialized discourse on refugee policies and public sentiment and emphasize the necessity of a more inclusive and equal approach to refugee assistance.