I saw this story a couple of days ago, but couldn't find it again; now it's resurfaced on another site

Beege Welborn:

German Cities Nearing Insolvency Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The mayor of a town called Essen, Mayor Thomas Kufen, who is also a member of the ruling Christian Democrats' (CDU) federal executive board, made some waves recently when he bluntly said

'Almost every German city is now on the verge of bankruptcy.'

...In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, only 10 out of 396 cities and municipalities can present a balanced budget, and these alarming figures from Germany’s largest federal state can be applied to the “entire country,” he said.

Welborn: And why is that? Well, the windmills haven't helped, but there's one simple, very expensive reason budgets are being blown to smithereens, even in cities that were 'formerly considered wealthy.'

THE WELFARE STATE

...Kufen emphasized the need for a national discussion on affordability: “We have to talk about what we can do so that our welfare state itself does not become a social case. This means: What do we want to afford and what else can we afford?” 

However, he noted that cities cannot make these crucial decisions themselves; only the federal government can

Kufen illustrated the crisis with figures from his own city, Essen, which has a population of nearly 600,000. The city had planned a balanced budget for 2025. “But instead of a slight increase of €1.7 million, we currently have a deficit of €123 million,” he calculated.

Once again, refugee accommodation and integration are near the top of the list for reasons why the city is seeing a budget shortfall. Far from being a solution to Germany’s budget and pension crisis, they have become a massive financial burden for the country, costing at least €50 billion a year in social integration, housing, and benefits.

The debt required to sustain the immigrant population - not the native population - is spiraling out of control as the arrivals suck up ever more resources while contributing next to nothing to help sustain themselves.

There is no assimilation. There is no becoming German.

The newcomers remain wards of the state generationally.

...However, there are also many more hidden costs to mass immigration, including rising housing prices, healthcare costs, education costs for an increasingly foreign student population, and housing a huge number of foreigners in German prisons and psychiatric institutions. Just like Essen, even major cities like Berlin are seeing “spiraling costs” due to mass immigration, leading to large-scale debt required to keep the cities running.

Some research studies have indicated that the overall cost of immigration has already cost Germany trillions and could reach €20 trillion if migration numbers do not fall.

But between the European Union dictating that borders will remain open, Merz's milquetoast obeisance to Brussels Brahmins, and the German Court system's dogged adoration of the Merkel 'Wir schaffen das' immigration doctrine...

‘Disaster for immigration authorities’: Court ruling set to hamper deportation efforts

A ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court’s may seriously hamper the efforts of the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz to bring down the number of illegal immigrants in Germany, says those in law-enforcement.

Germany’s highest court has ruled that police need to obtain a search warrant before they can enter the residence of an asylum seeker slated for deportation.

The ruling came on September 30 but has only just been made public.