Prime Minister Dick Schoof visited the asylum seeker center (azc) in Budel on Wednesday. It was a pre-planned visit, but it was not announced anywhere. Schoof spoke with employees and volunteers of the asylum seekers’ center, among others.
Schoof says in a video on X that the visit ‘felt a bit like coming home’. By this he refers to his job as head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) between 1999 and 2003. “A lot has changed in the meantime. But one thing has remained the same: the enormous involvement of all the employees of the organizations in their work. ” he says.
The visit comes on the day that the NS announced that it wanted to bypass Maarheeze station due to persistent nuisance caused by asylum seekers.
READ ALSO: ‘Closing station is non-negotiable’, mayor is very concerned
Schoof also spoke about the nuisance during his visit. “In all conversations I have heard why it is so important that we get a grip on migration. We as a government are working hard on that.”
Shrinkage of asylum seekers’ center
The Prime Minister spoke with Mayor Roland van Kessel of Cranendonck, which includes Budel and Maarheeze. The municipality and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) have been discussing shrinking the asylum seeker’s center for some time.
For example, the number of residents should increase from 1,500 to 960. The reception location where asylum seekers go immediately after arrival, the so-called COL, would shrink to 300 places. There were previously 1200.
The municipal council wanted the specific COL department to be abolished and sent the councilor to the negotiating table again. Much of the nuisance in the village is said to be caused by a group of residents of this department.
The conversation yielded nothing. According to the COA, closing the COL is not feasible.
READ ALSO: The asylum center in Budel became a huge headache in ten years
Minister Faber
It is the second time since taking office in July 2024 that someone from the Schoof cabinet has visited the asylum seekers’ center in Budel. In August, asylum minister Faber (PVV) came by and spoke to, among others, the mayor and residents of Maarheeze.
The video that Schoof posted about his visit to Budel: