Over 500,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in the European Union since the beginning of 2015, according to the European Commission, fleeing violence in the Middle East and North Africa.
"The President of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Dr. Manfred Schmidt, has asked to be relieved of his post for personal reasons. Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has approved this request," the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the number of undocumented refugees arriving in Germany has doubled over the day, a spokesperson for the Federal Police Headquarters in Potsdam told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
"Over the past day, the Federal Police accepted over 7,266 people throughout Germany. 7,049 of these refugees fled across the Austrian-German border. This [border] is currently the mainstream, and our efforts are concentrated on it," a federal police employee said.
