Doing good for the Netherlands. That is my motivation in politics. Over the past year, we as CDA have had to make choices at many moments: can we cooperate with other parties if it is good for the Netherlands? We did that to prevent the increase of VAT on sports and culture. We did it to soften cuts in education. We did it to enshrine the NATO norm of 2% in law. At all these moments we chose constructive politics. We received criticism, but also appreciation. Exactly as it should be when you take responsibility.
We have done our utmost to support the asylum laws as CDA, but unfortunately we must withdraw our support for the Asylum Emergency Measures Act after the adoption of the amendment criminalizing illegality. This means a punishment for humanity.
As CDA, we have done everything we can to pull both asylum laws across the line. Our starting point is always: what is good, we support. What is not good, we do not support. And we come up with improvement proposals ourselves. The CDA has therefore worked to improve the asylum laws. To laws that hold up in court. That are executable for the IND. And that do justice to society and to our values.
We always hoped that the outstretched hand would be answered. That some adjustments would be possible so that we could support both laws. That’s how it goes in normal times: politics is about cooperating, reaching a compromise, sometimes moving along to get a law passed. To be able to respond to the great challenges of our time.
In our faction meeting on Tuesday morning, we had determined our preliminary position: we would vote for the Asylum Emergency Measures Act and against the Two-Tier Status Act. We were willing as a party to also support the difficult measures from this last law – namely limiting family reunification and imposing stricter requirements on family members of subsidiary protected persons. But I thought: if you as a party say you want more control over migration, then you must also be willing to defend difficult measures.
Our main objection lies in the implementation. The IND, the organization that must assess all asylum applications, says that the Two-Tier Status Act must be implemented at the same time as the Migration Pact, because otherwise the organization must carry out a major system change twice and cannot handle that. The CDA wants to make the IND stronger, not weaker. Our amendment to give the IND more time was not adopted, which makes it impossible for us to vote for the law.
At the same time, yesterday the Asylum Emergency Measures Act, for which we planned to vote in favor, was fundamentally amended. An amendment that criminalizes illegality has been adopted by the House. Several members of the House were absent during this important vote.
Illegal residence in the Netherlands is unacceptable. The CDA supports criminalizing non-cooperation with return as an expelled asylum seeker. However, the PVVs amendment has far-reaching effects, as it also states: “Persons or organizations that help foreigners who are illegally residing in the Netherlands to hide will also be criminalized under Article 47 of the Penal Code.”
So it states: church members, volunteers, or organizations such as the homeless shelter of the Salvation Army that provide assistance to expelled asylum seekers can end up in prison. Humanity is a crime for the PVV.
But we will not make humanity a crime in the Netherlands.
This has nothing to do with sound legislation anymore. The CDA can no longer support this law in good conscience. Helping a fellow human out of love should not be criminalized. If we accept this, humanity will disappear from our society. That is unacceptable for the CDA. If the cabinet goes to the Senate with this law under its arm, they will not be able to count on the support of the CDA there either.
As CDA, our commitment remains the same. We want to contribute to real solutions to gain control over migration. No tough words, but measures that work. We choose control, not chaos. This time calls for politics with a straight back. Not politics of weak knees. A country where humanity is not a weakness, but strength. To do good for the Netherlands.
Henri Bontenbal