Dutch immigration minister under fire yet again
Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has run into new problems with her tough deportation policy. This time, her decision to send 181 rejected asylum seekers back to their native Syria has met with fierce opposition in the Dutch parliament.
Many MPs are angry that confidential information about this group has ended up in Syrian hands, even though that country is considered dangerous - especially for people who break Syrian law by fleeing across its borders.
Ms Verdonk’s ministerial post - Immigration and Integration Affairs - is known in political circles as a ‘headache portfolio’. If that’s true, then there’s a strong chance the minister herself has been left with a migraine following the commotion in parliament about her decision to deport a group of asylum seekers from Syria. Left-wing politicians in particular have accused Ms Verdonk of not having informed parliament correctly.
Read full article: Radio Netherlands, 29 March 2006
