The German Federal Cabinet met to discuss deportation | Adam Berry/EPA German Cabinet passes deportation draft bill at odds with EU law The proposed law could see unsuccessful asylum seekers detained in prison.

The German Cabinet on Wednesday passed draft legislation aimed at speeding up the deportation of unsuccessful asylum seekers, but critics warn it would break EU law.

The draft bill, dubbed "Geordnete-Rückkehr-Gesetz" (orderly return law), has prompted criticism from across the political spectrum.

Among its most contentious aspects is a proposal that unsuccessful asylum seekers awaiting deportation could be placed in ordinary prisons alongside convicted criminals, which would likely constitute a breach of EU law.

The European Court of Justice ruled in 2014 — in a judgment against Germany — that deportees could only be held in prisons on an exceptional basis.

The interior ministry defended the idea, saying that the country's specialized detention facilities only have 500 spots available for deportees awaiting removal. In prisons, deportees would be housed separately from criminals.

Germany deported 23,600 people last year, but nearly 31,000 who were obliged to leave managed to stay, according to government data.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has repeatedly pledged to ensure that more unsuccessful asylum seekers actually leave the country.

Even members of the governing coalition parties criticized the plans, with the Christian Democrat justice minister of North Rhine-Westphalia speaking of "considerable legal and actual concerns."

The justice minister of Hesse, also a Christian Democrat, told Handelsblatt that the draft bill contravenes European law, adding: "You just have to imagine, families with children would be housed together with rapists and other criminals."

If passed, the law would also make it an offense for civil servants to warn unsuccessful asylum seekers that deportation is imminent. Initial plans would also have made it illegal for volunteers working with asylum seekers to do so, but that aspect was dropped after criticism from NGOs.

The dates of planned deportations would be designated official secrets, meaning that anyone encouraging civil servants to disclose such information could also make themselves liable to prosecution.

As for social benefits, the draft law wants refugees who have already been granted international protection by another EU state not to be entitled to financial support in Germany.

Asylum seekers who do not cooperate with the authorities in providing identifying documentation could have their social benefits reduced.

The draft bill has yet to pass through parliament. Seehofer is hoping for the law to come into force by July, according to German media reports.