A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A pair of bills cracking down on asylum-seekers wishing to settle in the Netherlands has passed in the Dutch parliament after wrangling and soul-searching by some lawmakers who feared the law would criminalize offering compassionate help to undocumented migrants.
The legislation cuts temporary asylum residency from five to three years, indefinitely suspends the issuance of new asylum residency permits and reins in family reunions for people who have been granted asylum.
It passed in the lower house late Thursday evening but could still be rejected in the upper house.
Organizations that work with migrants have condemned the legislation. VluchtelingenWerk, an organization which helps refugees living in the Netherlands said in a statement that the bills were “harmful to society as a whole” and called on the upper house to reject the bill.
The Association of Dutch Municipalities, which represents city governments, said the bills were “legally untenable” and would cause chaos. “Municipalities will soon have to break one law in order to comply with another law,” the group’s chairperson Sharon Dijksma said in a statement.
The acting immigration minister David van Weel told reporters on Friday that the bills don’t “win any beauty prizes.”
Taking tough measures to rein in migration was a policy cornerstone for the four-party coalition led by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom. The coalition collapsed last month after just 11 months in office, and migration is expected to be a key issue ahead of the snap election on Oct. 29.
Wilders pulled the plug on the coalition saying it was taking too long to enact moves to rein in migration. His coalition partners rejected the criticism, saying they all backed the crackdown. His party currently holds a narrow lead in opinion polls over a center-left two-party bloc that recently agreed to a formal merger.
The opposition Christian Democrats withdrew its support for the legislation put to the vote Thursday over a late amendment that would criminalize people living in the Netherlands without a valid visa or asylum ruling — and would also criminalize people and organizations that help such undocumented migrants.
The amendment was introduced by a member of Wilders’ party and passed narrowly because a small number of opposition lawmakers were not present for the vote.
If the legislation moves forward, anyone providing assistance to an undocumented person could face jail time, leading to accusations that there could be crackdowns at homeless shelters and soup kitchens.
“There should be no soup police,” the caretaker deputy minister for public transport Thierry Aartsen told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting on Friday.
The vote took place in the final session of parliament before lawmakers broke for the summer. The upper house will consider the legislation after it returns from the recess. If Christian Democrats in the upper chamber reject it, the legislation will be returned to the lower house.
The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence. The majority of undocumented migrants arrive with a legal residence permit but stay on after it expires.
By MIKE CORDER and MOLLY QUELL
Associated Press
