An alarming rise in arrested transmigrants, but the federal government isn’t doing anything about it

The number of arrested transmigrants has increased dramatically in the last month. According to the Governor of West Flanders, this is because of Brexit. The N-VA warns: “The numbers are double what they were last year. That should set off all the alarm bells. However, we see little to no movement from the federal level.”

The N-VA asked the State Secretary with responsibility in the matter Sammy Mahdi several questions regarding the issue. “State Secretary Sammy Mahdi referred questions in this regard to the Minister of the Interior, although of the same party, with the same challenges and joint competence. He did confirm that the Transmigration working group will restart next week. However, the issue is not new. Waiting years to restart a well-functioning working group is a fantasy. Much too slow, this is about human lives,” the N-VA says.

Slow and not transparent

For the N-VA, it’s high time people woke up. “Expectations are high. Bruges Mayor De fauw finally seems to be gaining new insights. He supports the demand to deal more firmly with transmigrants and to transfer them to the closed centre. He put forward a proposal to Minister of the Interior Verlinden and Sammy Mahdi when they visited Zeebrugge in November. Months later, he’s still waiting for an answer. Again, it’s slow and not transparent, because we would finally like to know what the proposal entails.”

CD&V blows hot and cold

According to the N-VA, it is already clear that State Secretary Sammy Mahdi has no intention of locking up transmigrants. “We read that on his Twitter page after his visit to the closed centre of Bruges together with the Mayor. What exactly is the position of the CD&V party now? They are currently not getting beyond blowing hot and cold without a detailed plan. A firm approach to the transmigration problem is nevertheless urgently needed.”

Speed things up

According to the N-VA, it is clear. It’s high time to speed things up. This can only be done by working together on different fronts and levels and taking initiatives. “Transmigrants climbing into trucks must be punishable. The N-VA bill on this is ready to be approved in the Chamber,” the N-VA says. The N-VA wants to avoid the Port of Zeebrugge becoming the weakest link. “That is why we have to properly guard and secure the port so that it does not compare poorly with the Port of Calais. To this end, a decisive agreement must be concluded with the British. This agreement must make it possible to invest even more in surveillance and security of the port and our motorway car parks and to carry out more checks to intercept transmigrants.”

The N-VA concludes: “Keep places in the closed centres free to identify the transmigrants and make readmission agreements with the countries of origin a priority. Only through effective return will there be a dissuasive effect. But if we really want to stop migrant smuggling, we have to set to work on a new European asylum and migration policy based on the Australian model. Otherwise, we’ll be fighting a losing battle.”