300 names on blacklist of trouble-making refugees

Some 300 people who have claimed asylum in the Netherlands have been placed on a blacklist of troublemakers since trials began several months ago, the justice ministry said on Monday.

Asylum seekers are included on the list if they persistently cause problems at refugee centres or have been registered by the police as suspects on at least five occasions.

The approach, known as Top-X, will be completed for a national roll-out before summer. The list is reviewed every month by police and refugee agency staff.

Troublemakers included on the list are placed under a more restrictive set of rules, limiting where they are allowed to go. They are also likely to be deported more quickly.

Junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol said said when she was appointed to the job at the end of last year that she wanted to make dealing with troublemakers a priority. The actions of a ‘relatively small group’ are undermining support in the entire asylum system, she said in Monday’s press statement.