The Labour party will not call on junior justice minister Fred Teeven to abandon police quotas on illegal immigrant arrests, website nu.nl said on Tuesday.

During last week’s debate on the justice ministry budget, Teeven made it clear he has again agreed with police that they should arrest 4,000 illegal immigrants for deporation, nu.nl says.

Labour, which partners Teeven’s VVD Liberals in the current coalition, had earlier said quotas should be dropped in return for its support to make it a criminal offence to be in the Netherlands without proper papers.

However, the party will not support a ChristenUnie motion which will stop the police picking up illegal immigrants to make up the numbers.

‘In last week’s debate the junior minister made it clear: the police are not going out looking for people who live here without proper paperwork,’ Labour MP Marit Maij told NU.nl. This makes the ChristenUnie motion pointless, she said.

Labour MPs who oppose quotas have urged the party to support the ChristenUnie.