Activists have expressed disappointment at Dutch plans to deter illegal immigration from safe countries by bringing in a two-tier system for asylum seekers.
Proposals from the Dutch government would place asylum seekers from safe countries like Morocco in separate centres, which offer “pared down services” in comparison to centres inhabited by migrants from war-torn countries.
One main difference between regular asylum centres and the new ones for people from safe countries is that migrants from safe countries will not receive a living allowance, according to DutchNews.nl.
Instead, all meals and toiletries will be provided at the centres, which are to be located in Westerwolde and Cranendonck, and asylum seekers will have to report to authorities daily. They will also be searched upon entering and leaving the facilities.
Exempt from the new rules, however, are asylum seekers in so-called “vulnerable” categories, including LGBT people, alleged unaccompanied minors, and families with young children.
Westerwolde mayor Jaap Velema expressed support for the plans, stating: “People from safe countries come here for the allowance and a roof over their heads, but these are meant for people who really need them.”
Speaking to broadcaster NOS, he added that criminal activity amongst migrants from countries like Morocco was decreasing public support for refugees, commenting that the local community is “too small to deal with these nuisances”.
Earlier this year, Breitbart London reported how Dutch asylum centre employees disclosed they were working in a state of fear while supposedly “underage” migrants from countries like Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia use asylum homes as bases for their criminal operations.
Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) employees claimed asylum centres across the Netherlands were becoming filled with stolen goods, alleging that unaccompanied minors from North Africa “destroy things, they fight over and over, and they steal anything they can”.
Open borders activists were critical of the proposals, however, with migration lawyer Flip Schüller asserting that just because an immigrant hails from a country the Dutch government categorises as safe does not mean they cannot have genuine reasons to seek asylum.
“Take a trade union leader from Mongolia who is protesting against mining or a Christian from an Islamic country. Some of them are severely traumatised,” he said, before insisting that the plans were actually pointless because “troublemakers will come anyway”.
The Dutch Council for Refugees responded similarly, writing it was unacceptable that “a large group of people is now being separated on the basis of nationality” when there might be “people among them, such as political activists, who have the right to asylum in the Netherlands”.
“This proposal mainly illustrates the inability of State Secretary Broekers-Knol to tackle the actual problem. Namely, getting rid of the long waiting times for the asylum process,” the council said.
Last week it was revealed that the Dutch immigration service has a backlog of more than 15,000 asylum claims to process, as immigrants demanded a speed-up of the process and to be allowed to work while they wait for a decision.
“We have musicians, doctors and engineers here who can use this time and opportunity to do something useful for both for themselves and for society,” one Iranian migrant claimed.