In 2021, Germany banned the deportation of Afghans in response to the Taliban seizing power, while a ban on sending Syrians back into the clutches of the Assad regime was allowed to expire earlier that year.
However, German constitutional law and its commitment to the Geneva refugee convention can prevent courts from deporting criminals at risk of torture, death or inhumane treatment in their country of origin.
This means Mr Scholz’s reforms, which he announced ahead of the European Parliament elections, could potentially run into legal issues once the rules are changed.
Also on Thursday, it was reported that Mr Scholz has forbidden Boris Pistorius, his defence minister, from publicly disclosing details of his plan to introduce national service in Germany as part of efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German army.
According to Stern magazine, sources said Mr Scholz does not want conscription to become a campaigning issue because it could alienate voters from his centre-Left SPD party.
Mr Scholz made the announcement in response to the attack in Mannheim, southern Germany, last week in which an Afghan extremist allegedly murdered a police officer and injured a far-Right anti-Islam activist.
According to German authorities the suspect, 25-year-old Sulaiman Ataee, mounted the attack in an attempt to silence critics of Islam. He is facing one charge of murder and one of attempted murder, among other assault charges.
German media reported that Ataee came from Afghanistan with his brother as a child refugee a decade ago. He was initially well integrated in German society, learned the language to an advanced level and married a German woman, with whom he has two young children.
He was radicalised more recently, possibly after falling in with a group of extremists in the Mannheim area, the German tabloid Bild suggested.