MPs voted on Thursday night in favour of two controversial pieces of legislation aimed at reducing asylum claims, including a proposal that would make it illegal to be in the Netherlands without the right paperwork or to help someone who is.
The chaotic and confusing end to the parliamentary year saw both the ruling NSC and the fundamentalist Protestant SGP express doubts about the measures, before ultimately voting in favour.
In total, 95 MPs supported plans to introduce a two-tier asylum system, while 55 were against. One NSC parliamentarian joined the opposition and voted against the second bill, which would criminalise illegality.
The legislation still needs approval from the upper house of parliament, where the vote will take place after the summer break. That is likely to be extremely close and the outcome may well depend on a couple of independents.
The Dutch local authority association VNG has already urged the senate to reject the proposals, saying the measures would be impossible to implement and that some are “legally impossible” as well.
The shambolic progress of the legislation, part of a package to introduce “the toughest asylum measures ever”, began on Tuesday, during votes on amendments. Then, the far-right PVV succeeded in introducing the illegality clause after a slip-up by opposition parties.
The CDA confirmed on Wednesday that it would then oppose the legislation and early on Thursday evening it appeared that NSC and SGP might do the same.
They were, in the words of NSC MP Diederik Boomsma, worried that a “humanitarian gesture” such as offering a “bowl of soup” to a person without papers would be a crime and asked justice minister David van Weel to outline the consequences.
Van Weel initially said that priority would be given to tackling people causing problems, but added that “illegal is illegal”. Later in the evening, when pressed again, he said the illegality clause would not take immediate effect.
First it must be assessed by the Council of State, he said, and then it would be discussed in the lower house again. He did not say what would happen if the Council of State, which has already slammed the rest of the legislation, said the illegality clause was unworkable.
Two bills
One of the two laws would also abolish permanent residency status for refugees, requiring them to reapply for permission to stay every three years.
It would also prevent settled refugees from being joined by their partners and children until they have lived in the Netherlands for two years and have both a home and an income. Adult children would not be allowed to join them at all.
The other bill would introduce a two-tier asylum system, distinguishing between refugees fleeing persecution for reasons such as ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion, and those escaping unstable situations such as war or natural disaster.
The Council of State has said there is no evidence the measures would achieve the goal of reducing refugee numbers, while the IND and refugee accommodation service COA have warned that the changes would increase their workload.