Dutch set to expel 26,000 immigrants

Backing proposals which have prompted mass protests and the threat of hunger strikes, the government voted to order failed asylum seekers, many of whom have lived in the Netherlands for years, to leave over three years. Some 2,300 others would be granted amnesty.

Once known as one of the most liberal societies in Europe, the Dutch have become increasing hostile towards foreigners and voted in droves in May 2002 for the anti-immigration party of populist Pim Fortuyn, just days after he was shot dead.

The parliament yesterday backed the new law by 83 votes to 57, rejecting a series of amendments aimed at softening the legislation, except one ruling that families will not be broken up.

Martin Bruinsma, an immigration service spokesman, said the vote had gone along party lines, with the Conservative government and several smaller right-wing parties providing a "large majority" in favour of the measure. The opposition Labour Party, Socialist Party and Green Left voted against.

The proposals still have to be endorsed by parliament’s upper house but, if passed, will give Dutch authorities the power to arrest and detain illegal immigrants and transport them to "removal centres" prior to being flown home.

Unsuccessful asylum seekers will also be stripped of housing, health and welfare benefits, and those who refuse to leave the country face the threat of up to six months in prison.

The vote comes after a crack-down against illegal immigrants that has led to a sharp increase in police raids and televised deportations.

Such actions were once met with widespread protest, but are now widely applauded.

Immigration has become a hot topic across Europe, with far-right parties exploiting fear of foreigners to win votes in countries from France to Austria, putting pressure on mainstream politicians to introduce tougher policies.

Dutch refugee groups staged a demonstration outside parliament in The Hague last week against the expulsions and several failed asylum seekers have threatened to go on hunger strike. One man sewed up his eyes and mouth in protest.

While several countries, including Britain and Denmark, have tightened asylum policies, none has gone as far as mass expulsions. In Rotterdam, where the Mr Fortuyn formed his power base, 46 per cent of the population is estimated to be of immigrant origin.

Entire immigrant quarters are now being bulldozed to make way for expensive new housing developments and property owners who rent accommodation to illegal immigrants are also being targeted by a separate law that allows the police to evict occupants and seal up buildings.

"Pim Fortuyn said what many people only dared to think, and in cities such as Rotterdam many people think there is a demographic imbalance," said Maud Bredero, a spokesman for the ministry of justice.

"Dutch couples have an average of one to two children compared with up to six in immigrant families. They will be encouraged to go. In our asylum centres are thousands of people waiting for housing and we have to make room for those who have been successful in their applications to stay, against those who have not."

The new law applies to all failed asylum seekers who arrived in the Netherlands before the immigration law was overhauled in 2001.

They will be offered money and airline tickets and given eight weeks to decide whether to go. Refusal means being rounded up from their homes by immigration officers - backed by armed police if necessary - and sent to a "departure centre" where, for a further eight weeks, social workers, lawyers and civil servants will apply more pressure to get them to leave voluntarily.

Further refusal will result in a six-month jail sentence - the maximum allowed under Dutch law - and the removal of the asylum seeker’s right to a job, welfare, housing and health care. The government hopes that faced with such a stark future, most people will leave voluntarily.

The level of payments for those who agree to go will be determined by special committees and be judged on family circumstances. The plan allows for an amnesty for 2,300 asylum seekers with no police record on "compassionate grounds". These are separate from the 26,000 targeted yesterday.

The move comes despite a dramatic drop in the number of asylum seekers to the Netherlands which have more than halved in the past few years - from 43,560 in 2000 to 18,670 in 2002 - due in part to a toughening up of procedures which have seen 70 per cent of applicants rejected within 48 hours of claiming asylum.

Human Rights Watch, the New York-based group, slammed the policy last week, saying sending people home to countries such as Somalia and Afghanistan could put them at risk.

"The Dutch government’s proposals signal a serious departure from the Netherlands’ historic role as a leader in human rights protection in Europe," the group said.

In an open letter to the justice ministry, Human Rights Watch called the measure part of a "disturbing trend on the part of the Dutch authorities to depart from the international standards on its treatment of asylum seekers and migrants".