BERLIN, Dec 23 - Germany deported a convicted criminal to Syria on Tuesday for the first time since the start of a 14-year-long civil war there as the government in Berlin tries to show voters it is addressing their worries about migration. 

Around a million Syrians live in Germany, a legacy of former Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy, but migration now tops surveys of voters' concerns and support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged.