Giving help to people without a residence permit in the Netherlands will not be punishable. Outgoing asylum Minister and Migration David van Weel (VVD) brought a change out of the proposal for the so -called Asylum Nood Measures Act.
Previously, the cabinet said that it only wanted to exclude help from humanitarian considerations. According to Van Weel, that is impossible because it is difficult to determine where the distinction between humanitarian aid and other forms of help.
Just before the summer, the PVV made a proposal to criminalize illegality – stay in the Netherlands without the right documents. In the absence of a number of members of the House of Representatives, there was a narrow majority for this.
Illegality remains punishable
There was a lot of criticism from civil society organizations, especially after it turned out that care providers might also act punishable if they gave support to undocumented people. SGP and NSC, among others, said they wanted to withdraw their support to the law, causing a majority in the Senate to be lost.
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After the advice of the Council of State came out, Minister Van Weel already announced that he wanted to change the bill. In the change he has now added a so -called ground for exclusion: illegality itself remains punishable, but do not participate in this. This should ensure that a care provider who gives a cup of soup to someone, for example, cannot be prosecuted.
Van Weel tells the NOS his changes before the elections want to guide both rooms. However, the question is whether that will work. For example, the Council of State must again consider the change. After the elections, the question is whether there is a majority for the proposal.
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