The outgoing cabinet on Friday agreed to a last ditch attempt by the decommissioned integration minister Rita Verdonk to force through legislation which would allow the deportation of young Antilleans and Aruban criminals.

Verdonk is shortly due to join the ranks of the opposition backbenchers following the sweeping rejection of her right-wing Liberal (VVD) party in the November general election.
The proposal has already been rejected twice by the Council of State which initially said it contravened the European Human Rights Treaty by discriminating between different sections of the Dutch population. Antilleans and Arubans have Dutch nationality as part of the Dutch kingdom.
Nevertheless Verdonk told ANP after the cabinet meeting on Friday that she believes she must have the courage to present her plan to MPs. She added that the draft legislation has been adjusted so that it does not break international law and will be sent to parliament.
‘If Antillean youths really are criminals, hang around on street corners and cause trouble then at a certain point, that’s it. We believe that, under specific circumstances, we should be able to send them back,’ said Verdonk.
But she stressed that her plan only applies to a specific group of young people aged between 16 and 24 who came to the Netherlands without an education and have turned to crime.