Dutch people try to stop asylum seekers with own border controls at German border
On Saturday and Sunday nights, a group of Dutch citizens gathered at the border between Ter Apel and Rütenbrock in Germany with the intention of performing their own border controls and stopping asylum seekers from entering the Netherlands. According to NOS, no one was actually stopped from entering the Netherlands.
A large number of German and Dutch police officers were also present, standing with police cars on either side of the border. According to RTV Noord, they checked the Dutch people’s identity documents. The Dutch people were dressed in reflective jackets and carrying lights.
On Saturday night, a group of people with reflective jackets and light-up sticks also showed up at the border. They instructed cars crossing the Dutch border from Germany to pull off the road, and then inspected the vehicles to find out whether they contained asylum seekers.
The municipality of Westerwolde, which covers Ter Apel, called the action extremely dangerous. The municipality reminded people that it is illegal to stop cars in this way on your own initiative. It is also illegal to prevent an asylum seeker from seeking asylum, as the Court of Audit again pointed out last week when it published its assessment of the first four months of government border controls.
PVV leader Geert Wilders called the citizens’ border controls a “fantastic initiative” that should happen “everywhere at the border.” Wilders toppled the Schoof I Cabinet last week, saying the government was taking too long to implement the strictest asylum policy yet, as promised when it took office. Wilders failed to mention that it was PVV Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration who was responsible for implementing said policy.
Caretaker Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security said through a spokesperson that he understood the citizens’ frustration, but urged them “not to do this” and to abide by the law.
In the meantime, a fight has broken out between the remaining three coalition parties about who will take over the PVV’s asylum portfolio. The VVD, NSC, and BBB all want the file to show voters that they can do better than the PVV did.
In the meantime, the asylum portfolio will be handled by Justice Minister Van Weel (VVD). In the previous Cabinets, asylum was the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Security.
