The stricter regime for nuisance asylum seekers in Ter Apel will start on 1 June. Minister Marjolein Faber (PVV) announced this in a letter to the Lower House. The so -called process availability location (PBL) is then taken into use.
Asylum seekers are no longer allowed to go where they want after placement in the PBL. They are obliged to stay in the PBL itself and an area around the reception location. It is about the environment that has now been designated as a safety risk area and where supervision is being made.
The village centers of Ter Apel and Nieuw-Weerdinge are now forbidden terrain. If the people are seen in places where they are not allowed, they can end up in a police cell.
It is not the first time that trouble suits around Ter Apel and Nieuw-Weerdinge have to deal with stricter rules. Former State Secretary Eric van den Burg (VVD) had started this, but had to stop after a court decision. The judge found that an asylum seeker was limited too much in his freedom.
Faber writes that the police remain responsible for maintaining safety. The municipality of Westerwolde, which includes Ter Apel, has expressed its concerns about this at the ministry. Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of Emmen has previously been critical of Minister Faber’s asylum policy. He did, however, be positive about the new life of the PBL.