Asylum seekers can still call Amsterdam home, city's mayor pledges
8 years, 4 months ago

Asylum seekers can still call Amsterdam home, city's mayor pledges

NL Times  

Amsterdam regrets that no agreement was reached between the government and municipalities regarding the shelter of failed asylum seekers, but the city does not see this as a reason to stop offering them shelter, a spokesperson for mayor Eberhard van der Laan said to Het Parool. "Amsterdam continues the current shelter and will soon discuss the funding in the college and city council", the spokesperson said to the newspaper. State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice announced on Monday that the negotiations on the so-called bed, bath and bread regulation for failed asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants was a failure. "It is crucial that the government and municipalities are in liine with this and other important topics in the area of migration and asylum", Utrecht alderman Kees Diepeveen said to the newspaper.

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History of this topic

Amsterdam turns away Ukrainian refugees due to lack of shelter space
1 week ago

Amsterdam turns away Ukrainian refugees due to lack of shelter space

NL Times  

The municipality of Amsterdam has had to reject Ukrainian refugees in the last few weeks because there is insufficient space for them in the city. There is a lack of available space throughout the country, Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink warned. “We have come to the sad point that the Netherlands cannot take in any refugee from Ukraine, and in doing …

Pressure on asylum reception remains high in 2024, additional places needed
1 year, 4 months ago

Pressure on asylum reception remains high in 2024, additional places needed

NL Times  

The reception of asylum seekers will remain under pressure in 2024, as there will be a high influx and too little outflow of status holders to regular housing. As a result, several tens of thousands of additional shelter places may be needed next year, according to the six-monthly Multi-Year Production Forecast that outgoing State Secretary Christophe van der Maat has …

NYC to send asylum-seekers upstate to deal with influx
1 year, 10 months ago

NYC to send asylum-seekers upstate to deal with influx

Associated Press  

New York City’s mayor announced plans Friday to send hundreds of asylum-seekers to two hotels north of the city for up to four months as it tries to cope with a surge of arrivals, antagonizing officials in the largely suburban area. Greg Abbott for busing asylum-seekers to New York City without prior coordination, and officials representing the areas north of …

Asylum costs still out of control in the Netherlands after 28 years of warnings
2 years, 2 months ago

Asylum costs still out of control in the Netherlands after 28 years of warnings

NL Times  

The Dutch government has remained incapable of controlling the costs for the reception of asylum seekers because the system is constantly going through a cycle of being built up and broken down again, concluded the Court of Audit after an investigation. Moreover, State Secretary Eric van der Burg, who controls asylum policy for the Cabinet, and the Central Agency for …

Mayors want one policy for sheltering all asylum seekers, incl. Ukrainians and Africans
2 years, 3 months ago

Mayors want one policy for sheltering all asylum seekers, incl. Ukrainians and Africans

NL Times  

Bring the management of the reception of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers together, said chairman Hubert Bruls of the Security Council, the council of the mayors that head the Netherlands’ 25 security regions. The coordination of the reception of Ukrainians currently takes place via the security regions. If regular education is not possible and the only option is a good …

100 beds found for young refugees, but 1,700 are needed
2 years, 4 months ago

100 beds found for young refugees, but 1,700 are needed

Dutch News  

The Netherlands’ 344 local authorities have come up with just 100 beds for young asylum seekers who arrived in the country without parents, following an appeal in October for 1,700. Without more beds, there is a ‘real risk’ that some youngsters may end up sleeping on the streets, junior justice minister Eric van der Burg warned at the time. Refugee …

100 beds found for young refugees, but 1,700 are needed
2 years, 4 months ago

100 beds found for young refugees, but 1,700 are needed

Dutch News  

The Netherlands’ 344 local authorities have come up with just 100 beds for young asylum seekers who arrived in the country without parents, following an appeal in October for 1,700. Without more beds, there is a ‘real risk’ that some youngsters may end up sleeping on the streets, junior justice minister Eric van der Burg warned at the time. Refugee …

Just one council offers space for child refugees after minister's appeal
2 years, 5 months ago

Just one council offers space for child refugees after minister's appeal

Dutch News  

Just one local council has come forward to say it will make extra beds available for child refugees, dozens of whom are currently sleeping on office floors at the Ter Apel reception centre. Junior justice minister Eric van der Burg made an appeal to all 345 local councils last month, saying 1,700 beds were needed for young asylum seekers who …

Just one council offers space for child refugees after minister's appeal
2 years, 5 months ago

Just one council offers space for child refugees after minister's appeal

Dutch News  

Just one local council has come forward to say it will make extra beds available for child refugees, dozens of whom are currently sleeping on office floors at the Ter Apel reception centre. Junior justice minister Eric van der Burg made an appeal to all 345 local councils last month, saying 1,700 beds were needed for young asylum seekers who …

Minister appeals again for councils to house young refugees
2 years, 5 months ago

Minister appeals again for councils to house young refugees

Dutch News  

Junior justice minister Eric van der Burg has made yet another urgent appeal to local councils to come up with beds for refugees – this time for 1,700 places for youngsters who have travelled to the Netherlands without their parents. ‘I would ask you all, as a matter of real urgency, to prevent us reaching an absolute low point,’ Van …

Minister appeals again for councils to house young refugees
2 years, 5 months ago

Minister appeals again for councils to house young refugees

Dutch News  

Junior justice minister Eric van der Burg has made yet another urgent appeal to local councils to come up with beds for refugees – this time for 1,700 places for youngsters who have travelled to the Netherlands without their parents. ‘I would ask you all, as a matter of real urgency, to prevent us reaching an absolute low point,’ Van …

Despite the crisis, the number of beds for refugees has gone down
2 years, 5 months ago

Despite the crisis, the number of beds for refugees has gone down

Dutch News  

The number of beds for asylum seekers has actually fallen, despite government efforts to get local authorities to allocate more places, junior justice minister Eric van der Burg said at the weekend. Many contracts for emergency accommodation between councils and refugee settlement agency COA expired at the end of September and the net reduction in beds is around 1,250, Van …

Despite the crisis, the number of beds for refugees has gone down
2 years, 5 months ago

Despite the crisis, the number of beds for refugees has gone down

Dutch News  

The number of beds for asylum seekers has actually fallen, despite government efforts to get local authorities to allocate more places, junior justice minister Eric van der Burg said at the weekend. Many contracts for emergency accommodation between councils and refugee settlement agency COA expired at the end of September and the net reduction in beds is around 1,250, Van …

Amsterdammers come out to meet their new neighbours
2 years, 5 months ago

Amsterdammers come out to meet their new neighbours

Dutch News  

Some 60 asylum seekers centres nationwide threw open their doors to the public on Saturday, as part of Open AZC Dag. The festive scenes at the asylum seekers centre on Willinklaan in Amsterdam’s district of Nieuw West were about as far away from the images of new arrivals sleeping outside Ter Apel refugee centre this past August as you could …

Amsterdammers come out to meet their new neighbours
2 years, 5 months ago

Amsterdammers come out to meet their new neighbours

Dutch News  

Some 60 asylum seekers centres nationwide threw open their doors to the public on Saturday, as part of Open AZC Dag. The festive scenes at the asylum seekers centre on Willinklaan in Amsterdam’s district of Nieuw West were about as far away from the images of new arrivals sleeping outside Ter Apel refugee centre this past August as you could …

In Amsterdam, protesters rally for asylum seekers; Separate demonstration opposes immigration
2 years, 6 months ago

In Amsterdam, protesters rally for asylum seekers; Separate demonstration opposes immigration

NL Times  

A demonstration to draw attention to the crisis at the Ter Apel application center for asylum seekers will take place on Sunday afternoon in Amsterdam's Museumplein. The Ter Apel crisis event, which will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, is part of a series of demonstrations across the Netherlands called "We Make Place." MiGreat provides aid at Ter Apel "every …

Refugees' org. to sue Dutch gov't if it doesn't sort out asylum shelter before Aug. 1
2 years, 8 months ago

Refugees' org. to sue Dutch gov't if it doesn't sort out asylum shelter before Aug. 1

NL Times  

Refugees’ organization Vlucteligenwerk Nederland gave the Dutch State an ultimatum. The lack of space at asylum shelters means asylum seekers don’t have any privacy, decent accommodation, or clean sanitary facilities. The fact that the Netherlands treats Ukrainian refugees differently from other asylum seekers is clearly discrimination and, therefore, illegal, Vulchtelingwerk said. If the reception locations don’t meet the minimum requirements …

Gov't can't force municipalities to take in asylum seekers: State Sec.
2 years, 11 months ago

Gov't can't force municipalities to take in asylum seekers: State Sec.

NL Times  

The government cannot force municipalities to provide reception for asylum seekers currently sheltered in Ter Apel. "Compulsion is not possible at the moment, but I assume the municipalities will see their responsibility together," said State Secretary Eric van der Burg for Asylum and Migration. Ter Apel is rightly asking for help now," the State Secretary said before meeting with the …

Refugee advocates: Emergency asylum shelters fail to meet standards
3 years, 3 months ago

Refugee advocates: Emergency asylum shelters fail to meet standards

NL Times  

The way in which refugees and asylum seekers are housed by the Netherlands in emergency reception locations is seriously lacking, according to VluchtelingenWerk, known in English as the Dutch Council for Refugees. The conclusions are the result of a study into the living conditions of 5,000 asylum seekers at 21 emergency reception locations, the Council says. Unlike the Dutch Council …

Amsterdam preparing to take in Afghan asylum seekers
3 years, 7 months ago

Amsterdam preparing to take in Afghan asylum seekers

NL Times  

The municipality of Amsterdam is in talks with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers and the government about creating temporary emergency shelter for asylum seekers from Afghanistan, mayor Femke Halsema said to AT5. "Of course Amsterdam wants to contribute to the reception of people from Afghanistan," Halsema said. The Netherlands performed multiple evacuation flights, the last of …

New asylum seekers will be put up in tents, justice ministry officials say
5 years ago

New asylum seekers will be put up in tents, justice ministry officials say

Dutch News  

There will be emergency accommodation for asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands after all but the Ter Apel reception centre in Groningen will remain closed to new arrivals, justice ministry officials say. On Sunday, the ministry said that new refugees arriving in the Netherlands will not be admitted to official residential centres from Monday because of the coronavirus threat. Junior …

Give asylum seekers with delayed procedures more rights, National Ombudsman
5 years ago

Give asylum seekers with delayed procedures more rights, National Ombudsman

NL Times  

Asylum seekers who have to wait a long time for their asylum application process to start must be given better facilities and more privacy, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said in a letter to State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol of Justice and Security, who is responsible for asylum, NOS reports. According to Van Zutphen, around 9 thousand asylum seekers are currently …

Dutch housing for asylum seekers overcrowded
5 years, 5 months ago

Dutch housing for asylum seekers overcrowded

NL Times  

The reception centers for asylum seekers in the Netherlands are currently filled to bursting, the central agency for the reception of asylum seekers COA said on Thursday. This means that protected housing for members of the LGBTQ community will soon have to be used for heterosexual asylum seekers, the COA said. In the first three quarters of this year, 16,530 …

Wynia's Week: How to make housing problems worse by making them better
5 years, 11 months ago

Wynia's Week: How to make housing problems worse by making them better

Dutch News  

The lack of housing has become one of the biggest social issues during Mark Rutte’s period as prime minister. Residual In practice housing has become a residual item on the agenda, limping in after the budget deficit, open borders, the influx of ‘knowledge workers’, asylum seekers, nature, climate and the interests of provinces and local councils. Cannabis The first category …

Wynia's Week: How to make housing problems worse by making them better
5 years, 11 months ago

Wynia's Week: How to make housing problems worse by making them better

Dutch News  

The lack of housing has become one of the biggest social issues during Mark Rutte’s period as prime minister. Residual In practice housing has become a residual item on the agenda, limping in after the budget deficit, open borders, the influx of ‘knowledge workers’, asylum seekers, nature, climate and the interests of provinces and local councils. Cannabis The first category …

Rotterdam asylum center stops sheltering people from safe countries
6 years, 4 months ago

Rotterdam asylum center stops sheltering people from safe countries

NL Times  

The Rotterdam-Beverwaard asylum center will stop taking in asylum seekers from safe countries following a number of incidents involving such asylum seekers in the center, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb wrote in a letter to the city council. More asylum seekers from safe countries moved into the asylum center recently. Aboutaleb therefore arranged with the COA that the asylum center can immediately …

Amsterdam squatters move into Amstelveen building
6 years, 9 months ago

Amsterdam squatters move into Amstelveen building

NL Times  

We Are Here, a group of failed asylum seekers who have been squatting in buildings in Amsterdam for years, moved into a building on Groen van Prinstererlaan in Amstelveen. The group hopes to be able to stay in the vacant office building for a while, so that they have "the time to work on our asylum procedures", among other things, …

Failed asylum seekers try to squat in another Amsterdam building
6 years, 9 months ago

Failed asylum seekers try to squat in another Amsterdam building

NL Times  

A number of members of We Are Here, a group of failed asylum seekers who have been squatting in Amsterdam buildings for years, tried to squat in a building on Hoog Kadijk in Amsterdam city center on Sunday afternoon. The failed asylum seekers will listen to the court order to leave the buildings, despite failing to squat in a new …

Amsterdam ups lobbying effort on behalf of British Amsterdammers
7 years, 7 months ago

Amsterdam ups lobbying effort on behalf of British Amsterdammers

Dutch News  

Amsterdam’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan has written an open letter to British Amsterdammers updating them on what he and city hall officials have been doing to protect their post Brexit rights. ‘Amsterdam strives to be a capital city that is responsible for all its inhabitants… this includes you along with the 16,000 British citizens who currently call Amsterdam home,’ …

Amsterdam ups lobbying effort on behalf of British Amsterdammers
7 years, 7 months ago

Amsterdam ups lobbying effort on behalf of British Amsterdammers

Dutch News  

Amsterdam’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan has written an open letter to British Amsterdammers updating them on what he and city hall officials have been doing to protect their post Brexit rights. ‘Amsterdam strives to be a capital city that is responsible for all its inhabitants… this includes you along with the 16,000 British citizens who currently call Amsterdam home,’ …

Asylum seekers ‘pumped around’ system, says Nijmegen mayor
7 years, 8 months ago

Asylum seekers ‘pumped around’ system, says Nijmegen mayor

Dutch News  

Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen, has accused the body responsible for placing asylum seekers of ‘pumping around’ those accused of criminal behaviour, reported Trouw on Tuesday evening. Bruls wrote a letter to justice ministers, complaining about a ‘hard core’ of antisocial people, which he said the COA body was moving from one asylum centre to another. But the body denied …

Asylum seekers ‘pumped around’ system, says Nijmegen mayor
7 years, 8 months ago

Asylum seekers ‘pumped around’ system, says Nijmegen mayor

Dutch News  

Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen, has accused the body responsible for placing asylum seekers of ‘pumping around’ those accused of criminal behaviour, reported Trouw on Tuesday evening. Bruls wrote a letter to justice ministers, complaining about a ‘hard core’ of antisocial people, which he said the COA body was moving from one asylum centre to another. But the body denied …

Amsterdam opens center for problem causing asylum seekers
7 years, 8 months ago

Amsterdam opens center for problem causing asylum seekers

NL Times  

Amsterdam agreed to open the Netherlands' first separate center for problem causing asylum seekers. The central organization for the reception of asylum seekers, COA, hopes to have this center open and ready for residents by the fall, the Amsterdam mayor and aldermen informed the city council by letter, AD reports. The so-called extra guidance and supervision location is intended for …

Dutch officials have no idea if refused asylum seekers have actually left
7 years, 11 months ago

Dutch officials have no idea if refused asylum seekers have actually left

Dutch News  

Officials have ‘no idea’ if the 8,100 people who were refused recognition as refugees last year have actually left the country, the AD said on Tuesday. The Dutch immigration service IND published its annual report on Monday which showed 31,600 asylum seekers came to the country in 2016 but only 54% were given official approval. Of the people who were …

Groningen defies government, builds new centre for failed asylum seekers
7 years, 11 months ago

Groningen defies government, builds new centre for failed asylum seekers

Dutch News  

The city of Groningen is defying government policy and setting up a new emergency shelter for failed asylum seekers who have no where else to go, broadcaster NOS said on Wednesday. In Groningen, failed asylum seekers are currently staying in a converted boat while the council builds a new centre to take 176 people. ‘Groningen has been a city of …

Dutch to press for EU reforms on detaining rejected asylum seekers
8 years, 2 months ago

Dutch to press for EU reforms on detaining rejected asylum seekers

Dutch News  

The Netherlands is to press Brussels for changes in the rules which prevent member states from detaining rejected asylum seekers in secure accommodation, the Telegraaf said on Friday. The paper quotes junior justice minister Klaas Dijkhoff as saying that rejected asylum seekers often take off when their deportation date nears. Despite calls from left-wing MPs to take more refugees from …

Dutch to press for EU reforms on detaining rejected asylum seekers
8 years, 2 months ago

Dutch to press for EU reforms on detaining rejected asylum seekers

Dutch News  

The Netherlands is to press Brussels for changes in the rules which prevent member states from detaining rejected asylum seekers in secure accommodation, the Telegraaf said on Friday. The paper quotes junior justice minister Klaas Dijkhoff as saying that rejected asylum seekers often take off when their deportation date nears. Despite calls from left-wing MPs to take more refugees from …

Growing numbers of young homeless struggling to find beds
8 years, 3 months ago

Growing numbers of young homeless struggling to find beds

Dutch News  

The Netherlands’ largest cities are struggling to cope with the growing number of young homeless people on their streets, a documentary by state broadcaster NOS has found. ‘We have to turn young people away on a daily basis.’ In Zwolle, Overijssel, 50 people registered as homeless between January and September, compared to 53 in the whole of last year and …

Growing numbers of young homeless struggling to find beds
8 years, 3 months ago

Growing numbers of young homeless struggling to find beds

Dutch News  

The Netherlands’ largest cities are struggling to cope with the growing number of young homeless people on their streets, a documentary by state broadcaster NOS has found. ‘We have to turn young people away on a daily basis.’ In Zwolle, Overijssel, 50 people registered as homeless between January and September, compared to 53 in the whole of last year and …

Talks on housing failed asylum seekers fail to produce deal
8 years, 4 months ago

Talks on housing failed asylum seekers fail to produce deal

Dutch News  

Talks on accommodating failed asylum seekers have broken down after the government and local authorities failed to agree. The local authorities’ umbrella body VNG said Dijkhoff had pulled back from a verbal agreement that the centres could stay open. Around 25 local authorities have their own arrangements for housing failed asylum seekers. Dijkhoff said the government would no longer fund …

Amsterdam center overrun by tourists: residents complain
8 years, 5 months ago

Amsterdam center overrun by tourists: residents complain

NL Times  

A number of Amsterdam city center residents and entrepreneurs, united under the name d'Oude Binnenstad, sent a letter to Mayor Eberhard van der Laan complaining about the growing nuisance of tourists and the tourist industry. According to him, the Amsterdam inner city is being "Disney-fied". d'Oude Binnenstad call on Mayor Eberhard van der Laan and his aldermen to do something …

Over half of planned asylum centers may not open
8 years, 6 months ago

Over half of planned asylum centers may not open

NL Times  

The plans for more than half of new asylum centers in the Netherlands may be cancelled, NOS reports after surveying the Dutch municipalities that had asylum centers planned. A total of 40 new asylum centers were scheduled to open in the coming months, representing approximately 20 thousand beds. The municipalities, provinces, Cabinet and COA - the central agency for the …

Amsterdam prison complex to house 1,000 asylum seekers
8 years, 10 months ago

Amsterdam prison complex to house 1,000 asylum seekers

NL Times  

The Bijlmerbajes prison complex in Amsterdam will temporarily be used as an asylum center. From August the complex will house a thousand asylum seekers for up to one year, Het Parool reports. In the coming period the COA, the central agency for the reception of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, will work on making the former prison inhabitable by removing …

Four in 10 refugee deportations are called off at last minute
8 years, 10 months ago

Four in 10 refugee deportations are called off at last minute

Dutch News  

Almost 40% of the deportations of refugees who have lost their appeals to stay in the Netherlands are called off at the last minute, the NRC says on Wednesday. Missing Last November, broadcaster Nos said that 4,000 of the 8,000 asylum seekers who had lost their claim to refugee status in the Netherlands in 2015, returned to their country of …

Four in 10 refugee deportations are called off at last minute
8 years, 10 months ago

Four in 10 refugee deportations are called off at last minute

Dutch News  

Almost 40% of the deportations of refugees who have lost their appeals to stay in the Netherlands are called off at the last minute, the NRC says on Wednesday. Missing Last November, broadcaster Nos said that 4,000 of the 8,000 asylum seekers who had lost their claim to refugee status in the Netherlands in 2015, returned to their country of …

Amsterdam to aid asylum seekers in setting up businesses
8 years, 10 months ago

Amsterdam to aid asylum seekers in setting up businesses

NL Times  

Amsterdam launched a rather controversial program in which the city is helping asylum seekers set up their own businesses, even if they do not have a residency permit yet. The first batch of asylum seekers started the program early this month, newspaper Trouw reports. Three quarters of asylum seekers currently living in emergency or asylum shelters will eventually be given …

Amsterdam refugee hopefuls protest “inhumanity” with hunger strike
8 years, 11 months ago

Amsterdam refugee hopefuls protest “inhumanity” with hunger strike

NL Times  

Asylum seekers living in an asylum center on Havenstraat in Amsterdam have been on a hunger strike for nearly a week. "There are major problems with the emergency to Havenstraat", Ramon Schleijpen wrote on Gastvrij Oost, the Facebook page created by a group of Amsterdam inhabitants to help refugees, on Tuesday last week - the day the hunger strike started. …

Big cities want more money to integrate refugees into Dutch society
8 years, 11 months ago

Big cities want more money to integrate refugees into Dutch society

Dutch News  

Officials in the four big Dutch cities are threatening to tear up the deal made with ministers on providing homes for refugees unless the government comes up with more cash. Eight aldermen in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam have written to finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem and home affairs minister Ronald Plasterk calling for hundreds of millions of euros in …

Dutch mayors plead for smaller asylum reception facilities
9 years, 1 month ago

Dutch mayors plead for smaller asylum reception facilities

NL Times  

Smaller asylum reception facilities with attention paid to integration right from the start are the solution to the problems the Netherlands currently faces surrounding the reception of asylum seekers, according to mayors Mark Buijs from Boxtel and Jan Hamming from Heusden in an open letter to the Volkskrant on Monday. "We currently house asylum seekers in large-scale asylum centers where …

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