Extra places for asylum seekers in Drenthe, Zeeland and Overijssel | Inland

State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives on Monday after emergency consultations with relevant ministers and administrators. The cabinet previously called on provinces to make places available for asylum seekers, because the application center in Ter Apel is flooding and “too many people are forced to stay in an emergency facility,” said the minister. “As a result, the safety and quality of life of asylum seekers, employees and residents of the municipality of Westerwolde (which Ter Apel falls under, ed.) is at stake.”

The cabinet asked every province to come up with at least 100 places per province within 48 hours, for a period of 3 weeks to a month. The extra locations are paid for by the state through the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). The COA currently has locations in mind for more than 600 asylum seekers.

The first locations in Drenthe, Zeeland and Overijssel have already opened. The cabinet also reports that it has locations in mind in other provinces, but that a decision has yet to be made and local residents still have to be informed. More locations are likely to open in the coming days.

—