On Tuesday, September 9, the Senate Committee on Immigration & Asylum received two petitions against the two asylum legislation proposals that the House of Representatives adopted in July and which are now under consideration by the Senate. Interest organization Solidair Friesland submitted a petition, also on behalf of Emergency Shelter Friesland. They consider the Asylum Emergency Measures Act and the Law on the Introduction of Two-Status System to be in violation of Article 1 of the Constitution and believe that criminalizing people without the right papers and assisting them stands in the way of a solution.
The alliance Stop the Asylum Laws also submitted a petition on behalf of over a hundred NGOs, including Amnesty International and the Association of Asylum Lawyers and Jurists. The petitioners find the asylum legislation inhumane, unjust, and unworkable. A delegation of NGOs was present at this petition handover, along with people without residence permits, doctors, caregivers, and lawyers. The alliance states that they see no solution in the governments announced adjustment to the law that would no longer criminalize caregivers. People without residence permits will still be criminalized and will no longer dare to approach caregivers. They will still be unable to do their work, the petitioners claim.
Two asylum legislation proposals are currently under consideration by the Senate: the proposals for the Asylum Emergency Measures Act and the Law on the Introduction of Two-Status System. The Asylum Emergency Measures Act was adopted by the House of Representatives in early July after a roll-call vote. An important point of discussion was the consequence of an adopted amendment regarding the criminalization of illegal residence and providing assistance to people who are illegally residing in the Netherlands. The Council of State provided advice on this at the request of the outgoing Minister Van Weel of Asylum and Migration. On August 29, the minister informed the Senate by letter about the advice. On September 9, the committee resumes the procedural consideration of the two proposals that began on July 8, 2025. Read here more about the consideration of these two proposals.