Dutch cities plead with new Asylum Minister not to scrap overnight shelters

Five large municipalities have written an urgent letter to Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration, pleading with her not to scrap funding for the bed-bath-and-bread scheme, which offers basic shelter to undocumented people in the country. The municipalities fear more danger on the streets if these shelters have to close, they wrote in the letter, which RTL Nieuws has in its possession.

The letter was written by mayor Koen Schuiling of Groningen and is co-signed by mayors Femke Halsema of Amsterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam, Sharon Dijksma of Utrecht, and Jeroen Dijsselbloem of Eindhoven.

In recent years, these five municipalities have sheltered at least 2,700 asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies through the bed-bath-and-bread scheme, which is co-financed by the government. According to the mayors, the scheme is a successful experiment because almost 2,100 people have left the shelters and moved on.

The mayors are, therefore, very worried by the coalition agreement stating that funding for the scheme will be scrapped. They appealed to Faber to reconsider, raising concerns for public order and safety.

“Without this provision, we anticipate an increase in (undocumented) migrants on the streets, which poses a risk to the quality of life and public order and safety. This leads to inconvenience for our residents,” the mayors wrote. They also pointed out that some of the people using the scheme are vulnerable and in need of care.

Scrapping the scheme and closing the shelters would also mean that asylum seekers awaiting deportation will drop off the radar, making their return to their countries of origin more complicated, the mayors said.

Faber confirmed to ANP that she received the letter. “I have indeed received the letter, and I am going to read it,” she told the news wire. Her Ministry is still working out the details of the plan to scrap funding for the bed-bath-and-bread scheme. “But, of course, I will continue to talk to these municipalities.”

A spokesperson for Faber also told the news wire that the municipalities are welcome to continue the scheme themselves but without money from the central government.