The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) wants to keep the number of asylum seekers in the registration center in Ter Apel below two thousand. This is what a spokesperson for the organization says, who at the same time realizes that this will be a big job. “It is a challenge with the influx in recent weeks.”
In a prediction based on the current influx figures, COA yesterday assumed that 2,300 asylum seekers would need to be accommodated. The number has remained well below that with 2,100 asylum seekers, although that is still a hundred too many. The number of people who register remains an “incalculable factor”, according to the COA spokesperson.
Last night there was a place to sleep for everyone in Ter Apel, although people had to spend the night in the waiting room of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). It is not yet clear whether this space will be needed again as an overnight stay next night. “We hope not, but we will have to wait and see,” the spokesperson said.