Asylum-seeking children will be detained only in exceptional circumstances after the implementation of the Migration Pact. Minister for Asylum Affairs Bart van den Brink (CDA) made the statement on Monday during a parliamentary debate.
He was responding to concerns from left-wing opposition parties about the cabinet’s plan to allow the detention of asylum seekers with children in certain cases. Under the plan, some families could be held at a detention centre in Zeist while they await their asylum procedure.
This would apply after the pact comes into force on 12 June. It would apply only to asylum families who entered the Netherlands via Schiphol and have a limited chance of receiving a residence permit based on their country of origin.
Under normal circumstances, families will be sent to the asylum reception centre in Ter Apel, the minister said. “Only if a different decision must be made for compelling reasons” would families be sent to Zeist.
Such reasons include doubts about whether the adults are the children’s biological parents. They also include suspicions of human trafficking or risks to public order or safety, Van den Brink said.
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