Dutch citizens have been carrying out their own checks at the border with Germany in response to their Government‘s approach to migration. Local media reports that about a dozen people wearing high-viz vests have taken matters into their own hands amid frustration at the country’s handling of immigration.
Video shared online shows a group of people on a road between the village of Ter Apel in the north of the country and Rütenbrock, a village in Germany close to the Dutch-German border. Activists told Dutch news outlet AD: “Nothing is happening so we’ll just do it ourselves.” AD reported that the group of men are angry that asylum seekers can cross the border “unhindered”.
Justice Minister David van Weel said citizens shouldn’t carry out border checks themselves.
In comments translated into English, he is quoted by AD as saying: “I understand the frustration, but I really call on this group not to do this and to stop. Let the police and military police do their job and obey the law.”
Mr van Weel admitted the Dutch government “cannot handle” the current influx of migrants into the country, adding: “I can understand this can lead to frustration among people, but the intention is not for citizens to take the law into their own hands.”
Local officials said stopping cars can only be done by police and military police. They said the impromptu border checks on Saturday (June 7) were “really unacceptable.”
Mayor Jaap Velema said: “This is not the way to express frustrations. We can’t all drive through red lights either.”
Geert Wilders, who leads the right-wing populist party PVV, welcomed the move. He described it as a “fantastic initiative”, adding on X: “Should happen everywhere at the border.”
He added that if outgoing Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof and the VVD party do not immediately deploy the army en masse for this, then people will have to do it themselves. Mr Wilders said: “I would like to participate next time!”
Mr Wilders last week plunged Dutch politics into turmoil by withdrawing his party’s ministers from the ruling coalition in a dispute over a crackdown on migration.
The firebrand politician told reporters he was withdrawing his support for the coalition and pulling his ministers out of the Cabinet over its failure to clamp down on migration.
Immigration has slowed significantly since peaking in 2022, according to Reuters. The Netherlands received almost two first-time asylum applications per 1,000 inhabitants last year, which is slightly below the European Union average, according to Eurostat data cited by the news agency.
Ten EU countries recorded a higher relative number of asylum seekers in 2024, including Germany and Belgium, both of which share a border with The Netherlands.