Theo Francken: “The Vivaldi government’s asylum policy is a painful failure”

State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor no longer wants to offer shelter to single male asylum seekers. MP Theo Francken responds with cynicism: “When I proposed a daily asylum quota as the Secretary of State, I was reviled. And now single men should have to sleep on the streets? The De Croo government’s ‘humane’ asylum story has resulted in thousands of convictions, mind-boggling penalty fees and a lengthy waiting list. And now they are going to violate the rule of law for a while because the asylum well is full. What a painful failure.”

In the meantime, the PS party is proposing to engage asylum seekers where there are labour market shortages (bottleneck occupations). “This is cynicism at its worst,” Theo Francken responds. “While the asylum mess under the Vivaldi government is no longer manageable and single men have to sleep on the streets, the PS party is calling for a massive regularisation campaign for the army of illegal migrants that it has created itself. All of this is under the guise of integration into the labour market, while leaving unemployment among our own population untouched.”