A parliamentary majority this afternoon accepted the compromise deal on asylum seekers reached by the cabinet after a 12-hour meeting last night.

Labour (PvdA), the Socilaists, GreenLeft, the orthodox ChristenUnie en left-leaning D66 said that they are taking it as granted that the suspension of deportations will apply for the ‘whole group of 26,000’ asylum seekers who applied for residency under old legislation (before 2001).
Justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, who has taken over immigration minister Rita Verdonk’s asylum seekers portfolio as part of the cabinet’s copmpromise, told MPs that no asylum seekers currently in emergency council accommodation would be extradited. It remained to be seen how the decision would work out in practice, he added.
The cabinet deal gives refugees a reprieve from immediate deportation –pending the formation of a new cabinet.
On Tuesday, MPs passed a motion of censure against Verdonk after she refused to meet parliament’s wishes to maintain the temporary suspension of deportations.