Germany immigration
A Muslim family look down from a balcony where a German flag is hanging for the World Cup during a visit by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere in the immigrant-heavy Soldiner Kietz district on June 17, 2014 in Berlin, Germany Getty Images

A proposed law banning immigrants from speaking their own languages at home has come under fire in Germany.

The draft law was put forward by Bavaria's ruling party and ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and states that immigrants should speak German not only in public but also at home.

According to the proposal, "people who want to remain here on a permanent basis should be encouraged to speak German in public and within the family".

The draft law has sparked outrage with dozen taking to social media to voice their dissent.
Twitter users are commenting on the issue using the hashtag #YallaCSU. Yalla is an Arabic word that can be translated as "let's go" and "hurry up"

On Monday ( 8 December) Merkel distanced herself from the proposal, saying that it is not part of a "coalition agreement and is not government policy."

However, a government spokesman stated that the use of German is considered essential for the integration of immigrants and their success in school and at work.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD), another ally of Merkel's government, said the proposal would be impossible to enforce.

"All we need now is the CSU language police, to control all of this," the SPD's leader in Bavaria, Natascha Kohnen, said.

Peter Tauber, general secretary of Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said on Twitter: "[It's] none of politicians' business whether I speak Latin, Klingon or Hessian at home."

Immigration in Germany

According to latest statistics, Germany has become the second most popular destination for migrants in the world, after the US.

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)'s report released in May said that Germany recorded a 13% increase in immigration in 2013 and most migrants come from the European Union. Of the 1,226,000 migrants who reached the country in 2013, 118,000 were nationals returning home.

Turkish people formed the largest foreign-born group in Germany in 2013 (1.5 million), followed by Asians and Polish.

In November, Merkel announced that Germany would not abide strict measures to regulate migration proposed by UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

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