The co-leader of Germany’s AfD has endorsed the policy of “remigration”, pledging to carry out mass deportations of immigrants if it enters government next month.

Announcing her party’s election manifesto, Alice Weidel said Germany would witness “repatriations on a large scale” and a “total closing of Germany’s borders” in the party’s first 100 days in power if elected.

The AfD’s candidate for chancellor used the controversial term “remigration” to describe the policy during a speech to supporters in Riesa, a small town in eastern Germany that has seen a series of anti-AfD protests in recent days.

The phrase refers to the return of migrants to their place of origin – regardless of their citizenship status. 

“If this must be called ‘remigration’, then let it be called ‘remigration’,” she said as the crowd cheered in response, while protesters jeered outside the town hall.

“Remigration” has been a controversial and much-debated term in German politics over the past year, with critics saying the policy is akin to ethnic cleansing.

Last week, investigative journalists published allegations of a secret meeting near Potsdam involving far-Right groups, including senior AfD figures, to discuss the “remigration” of millions of people – including “non-assimilated” people with German citizenship.