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Between 2013-2018, 1,400 children were denied amnesty by the Dutch government. The whereabouts of 180 of them, at risk of exploitation, is unknown.
Dutch immigration service is unable to indicate the whereabouts of 180 minors whose asylum requests were rejected, according to El Pais.
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The minors are still residing within the country which may be an issue of concern as they are at risk of being led into criminal circles.
A total of 2,410 children requested asylum in the Dutch Republic. Of this total, 1,400 did not receive the amnesty reserved for special cases, and from this group, 740 of them received a deportation order but continued to reside in the country as undocumented, according to data provided by the Ministry of Justice.
Of the remainder, 400 received a residency permit, but 180 are considered ‘missing,’ and 80 are known to have left the country.
Defense for the Children, a Dutch organization advocating for migrant children, believes that since the minors have spent years in the Republic, growing roots there by attending school and making friends, there is enough cause to motivate the government to reevaluate their cases and grant them asylum.
The case of the Tamrazyan family has become a famous case exemplifying the tension between communities and government policies. The family came from Armenia but had their asylum request rejected. They have three children and are currently staying in a church where police are not allowed to enter because local legislation prevents them from doing so while services are active. To get around the police, the church has held non-stop service for more than 1400 hours.
The father argues that the family fled to the Dutch Republic for political reasons and that his life could be in danger if forced to return home.
For the family taking refuge at the church, the Republic is their home. “I really don´t know what the outcome will be, but we hope we can stay here .... because this is our home, this is where we belong. And my brother, my sister and I, we grew up in the Netherlands and we have been living here for almost nine years,” Hayarpi Tamrazyan, the 21-year old daughter stated on the subject of her family’s impending deportation.
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