Intense debate in parliament over the asylum law and the imprisonment of rejected applicants
The future of the "harshest asylum policy ever" led by Geert Wilders is threatened with collapse, after the Dutch parliament decided to maintain the "distribution law" that requires municipalities to accept a certain number of refugees, which Wilders had demanded to be abolished immediately. The PVV party threatened to reject its own asylum bill if this law was not repealed, but later agreed to part of the plan after passing an amendment that criminalizes the stay of rejected asylum seekers in the country. The parliament is expected to vote on the law finally on Thursday.
Under the amendment, asylum seekers who remain in the Netherlands after their applications are rejected can be imprisoned for up to six months, and any individuals or organizations that assist them in escaping from the authorities can also be punished. This amendment led the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) to withdraw its support for the bill, with its leader Henry Bontebal stating: "This means criminalizing those who help others, which we cannot accept."
The amendment was passed due to the absence of MPs from the GroenLinks-PvdA party during their participation in the "Keti Koti" celebration in Amsterdam, an annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery. They were supposed to coordinate with other MPs to abstain from voting according to the "pairing" agreement, but they failed to do so, which cost the opposition two important votes. On the other hand, other aspects of the PVV plan failed, although Wilders mocked his opponents on Twitter for their participation in what he described as "strange slavery acts" in Amsterdam.
The cancellation of the "Distribution Law" was a prerequisite from Wilders for supporting the two asylum law projects. These laws were prepared by the asylum minister from the PVV party, Margot Blok, before Wilders withdrew from the coalition due to other parties' rejection of his strict 10-point plan. One of the new laws stipulates the cancellation of permanent residency for refugees, requiring them to reapply for residency every three years. The law also prohibits family reunification until after two years of residency, provided there is a home and income, and completely excludes adult children. The other law imposes a dual asylum system, distinguishing between refugees persecuted due to race, religion, or sexual orientation, and those fleeing wars or disasters.
However, the Dutch Council of State criticized the measures, confirming that there is no evidence that they will reduce the number of refugees, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) expressed their concerns about the additional administrative burdens. A similar system was previously abolished in 2000 due to numerous lawsuits. While Wilders sees the passing of the criminalization of illegal stay as a "historic" decision, the CDA party announced that it may obstruct the second law related to the dual asylum system, calling for its implementation to be postponed until June to align it with new European laws. However, Parliament also rejected this amendment.