The cabinet supports an exchange of asylum seekers and status holders between the municipality of Amsterdam and other North Holland municipalities. Amsterdam wants to arrange 1,200 additional reception places for asylum seekers, if other North Holland municipalities offer housing to 1,200 status holders who are now waiting for it in Amsterdam.
The municipality of Amsterdam has been advocating an exchange system for some time. Due to the housing crisis, the capital is lagging far behind in housing status holders, but there is sufficient space and support to accommodate refugees. It appears that Amsterdam will soon have to accommodate fewer status holders if they receive more refugees.
Spread law
Outgoing Minister Hugo de Jonge (Home Affairs) and State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) sent the letter shortly before Christmas to a consultation between municipalities and the province. Other municipalities still have to agree to it, RTL News reports.
The exchange anticipates the dispersal law, the controversial law that should ensure a more even distribution of asylum seekers. The Senate still has to vote on that law, but the justice spokesperson says that the exchange “is already possible without a distribution law”.
In their letter, the ministers seem to expect that the exchange will be criticized in view of the distribution law, according to a quote in De Telegraaf. “We realize this is not an easy conversation. Please know that we are by your side.”
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