Chamber demands solution to asylum problems | Inland

Reporter Valentijn Bartels will be present at the debate (from 10:15) Follow his report via his tweets at the bottom of this message.

After the attack on Ukraine, steam and boiling water were used to search for locations where refugees could find shelter. Now that there are enough places for Ukrainians for the time being, the regular asylum reception facilities – which have been overcrowded for months – appear to be completely overflowing. The situation is so dire that State Secretary Van der Burg could not guarantee on Tuesday that all asylum seekers would have a bed in the evening. Amsterdam, Oss and Nijmegen took over asylum seekers from Ter Apel at the last minute, but according to the State Secretary there are still exciting months ahead.

On Thursday the House of Representatives will debate the reception of Ukrainian refugees, but the concerns in the House about the full asylum reception are now much greater. While there are still about 10,000 free places available for Ukrainians, regular asylum reception is subject to its tax. There are about 39,000 places, and almost all of them are occupied. There are differing views in the House about the solution.

Disastrous for support

VVD MP Brekelmans fears that the coercion intended by the cabinet will be disastrous for public support, although he does not rule it out as a ‘last resort’. “But we see that as a sign of weakness. We would rather see coercion used to realize locations for flexible housing, so that status holders and other home seekers can get a home more quickly.” Now about 13,000 status holders are waiting for a home to occupy a place in the shelter.

Brekelmans also wants the cabinet to look more seriously at ‘agreements with third countries’. The United Kingdom, for example, wants to allow asylum seekers in Rwanda to go through the procedure. According to the VVD, such agreements are in any case worth investigating. “I want the cabinet to contact the UK to ask about the experiences.” To date, Van der Burg argues that EU rules hinder asylum reception elsewhere.

It has now become clear to coalition party D66 that reception must be enforced at municipalities as soon as possible. Van der Burg says he wants to come up with a proposal around the summer, but that is not going fast enough, according to D66 MP Podt. “As far as we are concerned, it is strange that this designation is dusted off for Ukrainians, while the crisis for regular asylum seekers is at least as great.” The D66 member believes that the indication for regular asylum seekers will be forthcoming soon.

CDA also concludes that enforced places are needed quickly. “Because it has not been possible for months to properly distribute asylum seekers across the Netherlands,” says CDA MP Kuik. According to her, perseverance is necessary to get the asylum system off the grid. SP member Van Dijk believes that the State Secretary should finally work on the return of asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies and on a better distribution of asylum seekers among all municipalities in the country. “It’s really a mess right now. The State Secretary mainly points to others.”

Van der Burg wants to inform the House of Representatives by the beginning of June at the latest about which form of coercion he finds suitable. The VVD minister already announced this week that he expected a period full of stress and consultation about reception places. The minister said that he saw a lot of talking as his only instrument for the time being.

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