Additional emergency plan for asylum reception, the municipality is no longer allowed to select asylum seekers themselves

Harm MeterTer Apel in September 2022

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:13

The cabinet wants municipalities to stop selecting certain groups of asylum seekers, such as single men. If they do, the cabinet itself will still place these asylum seekers in the empty places that are available, says Eric van der Burg, State Secretary for Asylum Affairs, in a letter to Parliament.

“In the most extreme case, asylum seekers will be accommodated – if necessary unsolicited – at reception locations that apply restrictions,” writes Van der Burg.

The State Secretary has also drawn up an emergency plan to prevent the reception at the Ter Apel application center from getting out of hand again. Van der Burg of Asylum Affairs no longer wants asylum seekers to have to sleep outside or in a tent, as happened regularly last year.

The situation in Ter Apel is now becoming so dire and the maximum occupancy of 2000 asylum seekers has been reached.

The emergency plan also states that asylum seekers and status holders who are waiting for a home in a reception center will be transferred to hotels. Van der Burg does not want to wait for the approval of municipalities in this area either. He writes: “In extreme cases, asylum seekers will also be accommodated in hotels, if necessary unsolicited”.

In addition, extra police will be deployed for faster registration and control of travel documents. In addition, a temporary reception location – the so-called front portal location – is being created in an event hall in Assen for 500 people.

In the coming years many thousands more asylum seekers will travel to the Netherlands than initially thought. The number of asylum seekers expected in 2023 is slightly above 76,000 people according to the highest scenario.

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