German police dumping people in Dutch border towns; Netherlands extends border controls
Over the past three months, Germany has dropped over 150 people off in Dutch border towns, leaving them there to fend for themselves, De Gelderlander discovered. The Ministry of Asylum and Migration told the newspaper that this was the result of “bilateral agreements” and is unrelated to the reintroduction of border controls, which the Dutch government extended until June 2026 on Monday.
De Gelderlander started investigating these “cold transfers” - dropping people off across the border without handing them over to the relevant authorities - after footage surfaced of people being pushed out of a German police van in Venlo in the middle of the night earlier this year. It found that in October alone, the German police left 63 people in the Netherlands in this way after stopping them at border controls. Over the past three months, it involved 158 people, according to the newspaper.
Residents of ‘s-Heerenberg, located right next to the German A3 highway, told De Gelderlander that they are increasingly seeing conspicuous figures walking the streets at unusual times. Residents are being approached by strangers, asking if they can borrow a phone or connect to the Wi-Fi network.
The newspaper asked the Ministry of Asylum and Migration about this and was told that these cold transfers are the result of “bilateral agreements” between the Netherlands and Germany. “Cold and warm transfers have been taking place for years, regardless of the reintroduction of border controls,” a Ministry spokesperson told the newspaper. Between December 2024 and September 2025, 690 foreign nationals were transferred from Germany to the Netherlands, and 490 people the other way around, the Ministry said.
Germany and the Netherlands have both been conducting border controls for some time. Minister David van Weel of Asylum and Migration announced on Monday that the Dutch border controls would be extended by six months, until 8 June 2026. In a letter to parliament, Van Weel called border controls paramount for public order and protecting the migration system from further overload.
He reported that between 9 December 2024 and 8 September 2025, 470 foreign nationals were denied entry to the Netherlands at the land borders with Belgium and Germany, and 230 people were arrested for various offenses.
People who are not allowed to enter the country or who do not have the correct papers are sent back. Sometimes, the people are transferred to the relevant authorities, the Koninklijke Marechaussee in the Netherlands; other times, they’re unceremoniously transported across the border and left.
Mayor Anne-Marie Fellinger of Montferland, which covers s-Heerenberg, called it worrying that authorities are just dumping people across national borders. “Everyone, regardless of origin or status, must be treated with dignity and safety. The so-called ‘cold transfers’ raise questions about the safety of those involved and their subsequent trajectory.”
