The German accommodation system for asylum seekers is based on a fundamental ambivalence: it is torn between the idea of social welfare for those in need and the aim of deterring those about to come. In the aftermath of the so called European “refugee crises”, numerous laws were passed that strengthened the idea of deterrence. Moreover, the German administration sought help from private companies to cope with the shortage in refugee accommodation places. As a consequence, the need for private security companies to monitor the mass shelters increased.
The inhabitants of the camp are caught in a situation in which the legal responsibilities are highly complex, with private companies running the shelters and hiring private security companies who enforce the house rules. Taking data from my empirical research at the emergency shelter in Berlin, I aim to illustrate the gap between the legal limits in the security personnel's work in the camps and their actual social role of law enforcers.