100,000 people sign petition for child refugee amnesty

Some 100,000 people have so far signed a petition calling on the government to stop deporting young refugees who have put down roots in the Netherlands, Trouw reports on Friday.

GroenLinks parliamentarian Tofik Dibi, who launched the initiative, hopes the online petition will help persuade the cabinet to introduce legislation allowing children who have lived in the Netherlands for at least eight years to stay.
The MP started the campaign after immigration minister Gerd Leers said he would not make an exception for Angolan youth Mauro Manuel who was faced with deportation despite living in the Netherlands since he was 10.
Manuel has since been given a student visa to stay.