Overview
- The Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers reached capacity last week, prompting a COA 'deurbeleid' that gives priority to vulnerable people and leaves many single men waiting outside the Ter Apel registration centre.
- Groningen-area councils set up temporary night-only shelters this week with about 130 people in Hanze Plaza and up to 150 places in Warffum, but those sites are meant only as very short-term fixes.
- Asielminister Bart van den Brink visited Ter Apel and told municipalities he has called around the country and still needs 'hundreds' more places to resolve the bottleneck before the summer.
- The Red Cross and volunteers warn the hall-style night shelters use narrow hard beds and are 'exhausting' for residents, and some asylum seekers continue to sleep outside to avoid losing their place in the queue.
- Many other municipalities, including several in Utrecht province, have declined extra emergency places, leaving a national gap between arrivals and reception capacity that fuels operational strain and local political friction.