Council of State: New asylum law could make it illegal to help undocumented people
If it becomes illegal to live undocumented in the Netherlands, providing any form of assistance to an undocumented person could be considered a form of complicity, the Council of State said after analyzing the asylum bill. Caretaker Justice Minister David van Weel will adjust the bill, he said to the media as he entered the weekly Council of Ministers.
The Minister had submitted the bill to the Council of State, specifically to find out if it would put Dutch people in trouble for giving someone a blanket or a sandwich. It could, the Council of State concluded, NOS reports. “After all, the aid provider makes it possible for that person to remain illegally in the Netherlands,” the Council wrote. “Even limited forms of assistance, such as providing a cup of soup, can constitute complicity.”
The courts will have to decide based on individual cases whether there is actually complicity, the Council said. But it warned that the bill could also put professional care providers at risk of a criminal record.
In late June, the PVV submitted a motion to tighten an asylum bill by making it a criminal offense to be undocumented in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders’ far-right party proposed amending the Aliens Act 2000 and the General Administrative Law Act to introduce a prison sentence of up to six months for illegal residence in the Netherlands.
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, passed the bill with a majority in early July. But the conservative Christian party SGP’s support hinged on whether the bill would criminalize Dutch citizens for providing help.
“The government must amend the law on this point as soon as possible, because this is unacceptable to the SGP,” parliamentarian Diederik van Dijk said in response to the Council of State’s advice. If the government doesn’t amend the bill so that people can still offer help without fear of criminal prosecution, the conservative Christian party will not support the bill in the Senate, where the party’s support is crucial for a majority
