Dutch to expel 26,000 migrants

THE Dutch parliament yesterday approved the expulsion of 26,000 asylum seekers, despite objections from the opposition and human rights groups.

Immigration Service spokesman Martin Bruinsma said the vote had gone along party lines, with the conservative government and several smaller right-wing parties providing a “large majority” in favour of the measure.

The opposition Labour Party, Socialist Party and Green Left voted against.

Most of the 26,000 deportees arrived in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2001. They were refused political asylum and have exhausted all appeals.

In an open letter to the Justice Ministry, Human Rights Watch called the measure part of a “disturbing trend on the part of the Dutch authorities to depart from the international standards on its treatment of asylum seekers and migrants”.

It warned that the deportations could risk the safety of those forced to return to unstable places such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Chechnya.

Since the adoption of new immigration laws in 2001 the Netherlands has imposed tight restrictions on the number of newcomers. The implementation of stricter laws accelerated after elections in 2002 when 10% of voters backed the party of the anti-immigration candidate Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated a few days before the vote.

The number of asylum applications fell from 43,600 in 2,000 to 18,700 in 2002. More recent figures were unavailable.

The Netherlands has since opened a number of “deportation centres” where entire families are detained before being forced onto flights back home. Dozens of charter flights a year have already returned thousands of people refused asylum.

The motion approved today grants amnesty to about 2,000 immigrants whose applications were rejected but came to the Netherlands more than five years ago.