The future seemed bright for Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, after she was awarded with the prestigious TIME person of the year for her open door policy concerning refugees.

Under the leadership of Merkel, the German government has accepted upwards of a million refugees from parts of the Middle East and Africa. However, Germany has become severely polarized on the issue of refugees. On New Year’s Eve, dozens of women reported to German authorities that they were robbed and two women said they were raped in the German cities of Cologne, Hamburg, and Stuttgart. In addition, as many as 1,000 men of North African and Arab descent formed rings around women, who desperately tried to get out. Migrants are also suspected of setting off explosive fireworks illegally and vandalizing property.

In response to these attacks, the German anti-refugee movement, also known as PEGIDA, has gained even more followers and the German people are heavily split regarding the refugees. Some believe that they must keep welcoming the refugees, while others believe the refugees are a danger to Germany and represent an attack on their culture and values.

In order to keep Germany from spiraling into chaos, Merkel must implement several changes. Firstly, Merkel must have a very tough stance on migrants who commit crimes in Germany. If a migrant commits any crimes, then they should be immediately deported.  If Merkel does not take a tough stance concerning the crimes of refugees, then more and more German people will turn against her because they will view her as favoring “foreigners” over her own people.

Secondly, Merkel must call for more transparency with the German police and the media. According to a report by the police in Cologne, apparently New Year’s Eve was mostly peaceful and uneventful, which is completely wrong and demonstrates an attempt by the German police to cover up the various incidents concerning refugees. In addition, the German government censors many media outlets, such as Google, Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook, for what it deems xenophobic and racist hate speech. Merkel must stop this censorship and demand more transparency from the police because the German people deserve to know what is going on in their country and the government has no right to infringe on free speech.

Lastly, Merkel must consider lessening the flow of migrants. Germany is at a pivotal tipping point as tensions are rapidly rising and there is an increase in violent protests. After more than a million migrants have entered, even more migrants could further exacerbate the numerous problems in Germany already starting to surface.