Now, AfD chairman, Roman Reusch has been promoted to chief state prosecutor, giving him the power and authority to cooperate with foreign law enforcement and deport foreign criminals. Reusch has been given this role despite his anti-immigration views, and for some, this makes him unsuitable for the job.
Ayse Demir, spokeswoman for the Turkish Association of Berlin and Brandenburg (TBB) said in a statement:
"It is more than worrying that a leading member of the AfD, which famously employs scorn against refugees and Islam is now getting an important position."
Ms Demir, has not been the only one to express concerns at his appointment — many immigration campaigners and charities have also voiced their worries.
However, with every negative view there have been those who are in favor of Reusch and his controversial promotion.
Martin Steltner, a Berlin prosecutor, defended the appointment saying, in a recent interview:
"Reusch has done an outstanding job, he is not a member of a banned organization, he has the right to be politically engaged."
Further support for the promotion came from Reusch's very own party.
"I don't understand it, Mr Reusch is clearly a reliable official, and his superiors have the authority to decide his professional career. If he is being promoted, then that is in accord with the normal regulations of civil service law. The fact he belongs to AfD plays no role in that," said Alexander Gauland, a leading AfD politician.
Within the same interview some of his comments were also seen as xenophobic, he said: "Nearly 80 per cent of my perpetrators have an immigrant background, 70 per cent are from the Middle-East. These foreign perpetrators have no business in this country".
