Dutch parliament adopts laws for the "strictest asylum policy ever"
A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, adopted two asylum laws around midnight. The laws, drafted by former PVV Minister Marjolein Faber, are intended to implement “the strictest asylum policy ever” in the Netherlands.
95 parliamentarians voted in favor of the Two Status System Act and 55 against. The Asylum Emergency Measures Act got 94 votes for and 56 against, NOS reports. It is uncertain whether these laws will also make it through the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate. The CDA, an important swing vote in the Senate where the caretaker Cabinet has no majority, voted against the laws in parliament.
There has been a lot of discussion about the two laws this week, especially after the PVV managed to pass an amendment to tighten them even further. The amendment makes it a punishable offense to be undocumented in the Nehterlands. That would also mean that anyone who offers help to undocumented people would be committing a crime.
The CDA, NSC, and SGP found the latter unacceptable. They believe it unmerciful to punish people for giving undocumented people a “cup of coffee,” a “cup of soup,” “a bed,” or a “piece of bread.”
After pressure from the NSC and SGP, Asylum Minister David van Weel sent a letter to parliament around 10:00 p.m. saying that the criminalization of being undocumented would not be implemented immediately. The Council of State will first look into the measure, and then its advice will be discussed in the Tweede Kamer, the Minister said. He did not say what would happen if the Council of State were critical.
That was enough for the NSC and SGP. The CDA remains against the laws and called it “incomprehensible that so many parties voted in favor.” CDA leader Henri Bontenbal stressed that this week was “chaos” and that legislation cannot be handled in such an amateurish manner. “The amendment on the criminalization is and remains unacceptable to us.”
The PVV’s amendment, which unexpectedly gained a majority in the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday, was never discussed in parliament. It hasn’t been examined for its consequences, and the Council of State has not assessed whether it was correctly constructed.
The two-status system divides asylum seekers into people who are persecuted for their political views, religion, or sexual orientation, and people fleeing from war and violence, with the latter group receiving fewer rights. The Asylum Emergency Measures Act stipulates, among other things, that permanent residence permits will be abolished and that residence permits will have a shorter term. The Eerste Kamer will debate the bills after the summer recess.
