Schoof finds case of the deportation of 11-year-old Mikael "very complicated"

Prime Minister Dick Schoof finds the deportation of Dutch-born Mikael (11) and his mother to Armenia "very complicated," he said on the RTL4 talk show Humberto à Paris.

The Council of State has decided that Mikael and his mother cannot stay in the Netherlands. Mikael was born while his mother's residence permit procedure was still ongoing. She had come to the Netherlands from Armenia in 2010. The judge ruled that Mikael's mother would not be granted a residence permit because she and her son had been out of sight of the relevant authorities for too long.

Schoof understands that it is difficult for Mikael and his mother and that friends and family are resisting the deportation. At the same time, he emphasizes that he stands behind the decision of the highest court. He has confidence in "the integrity of the Supreme Court, the Immigration Service, and the minister."

Asylum Minister Faber confirmed last week that there is nothing she can do for Mikael and said that the responsibility lies with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). Both the children's rights organization Defence for Children and the Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, spoke of a harsh sentence and pleaded for leniency.

The Prime Minister, who used to head the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) himself, finds it "unpleasant" that asylum seekers can litigate for so long. His Cabinet, consisting of the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB, wants to severely restrict immigration.

Mikael is still struggling to process the fact that he will be deported to Armenia after living in Amsterdam for his entire life, said family spokesperson Guy Loyson. The boy and his mother are holding out hope, he said. "We are still hoping for a miracle," Loyson stated at the beginning of August.