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Influencing and filling the gap: how and why NGOs try to fill and influence the policy gap regarding irregular migrant policy in the Netherlands

Name: Tessa Waale

Student ID: 11014938

Supervisor: dr. J. M. J. Doomernik Second reader: dr. A.J. van Heelsum

Date: 22 June 2018

Program: Political Science Track: International Relations

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Abstract

In the last 30 years, the Dutch government has implemented a variety of measures aimed at excluding irregular migrants from society. The non-conclusiveness of the Dutch national policy reveals a gap between formulated policy and what is happening in practice. The presence of irregular migrants on municipal grounds worries not only municipalities, but also different non-governmental organizations who are trying to help irregular migrants by countering and influencing national policy. Semi structured, in-depth interviews are used to explore the strategies and motives used by NGOs that help irregular migrants. It is argued that humanitarian reasons motivate NGOs to take action, as the national government does not carry out a perceived government task. In line with the theory, strategies NGOs use evolve around service provision and advocacy.

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Acknowledgement

Five months of hard work are lying in front of you. Five years ago, I would have never imagined myself doing a Master but look where perseverance and willpower got me. I would like to thank several persons whose helpfulness made this thesis possible.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Jeroen Doomernik, whose expertise on the subject inspired me and whose feedback helped me write this thesis.

I also would like to thank all the interviewees who warmly welcomed me. Knowing how busy you all are made me appreciate even more the time you made available to answer my burning questions.

I would like to thank my fellow students, whose feedback proved useful over and over again. I would like to thank my friends for the distraction and mental support you gave during this process.

Last but not least I would like to thank my parents and boyfriend, who have always been very supportive and always believed in that I would succeed, even if I didn’t.

Tessa Waale, 22 June 2018

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Relevance of research 1

1.2 Scope of research 2

1.3 Structure of this thesis 3

1.4 Research question 3

2. Contextualization 4

3. Theoretical framework 7

3.1 Conceptualization of irregular migrant 7

3.2 Migration policy gap 9

3.3 Humanitarianization of migration politics 12

3.4 The power of NGOs 13

3.5 Conclusion 15 4. Methodology 17 4.1 Research design 17 4.2 Sample 17 4.3 Standardization 19 4.4 Ethics 19 4.5 Operationalization 20

5. Strategies of NGOs to provide help to irregular migrants 21

5.1 MCB (Mondiaal Centrum Breda) 21

5.1.1 Strategies 21

5.1.2 Motives 22

5.2 GAST (Geef asielzoekers een toevlucht) 22

5.2.1 Strategies 22

5.2.2 Motives 23

5.3 STUV (Stichting Uitgeprocedeerde Vluchtelingen) 24

5.3.1 Strategies 24

5.3.2 Motives 25

5.4 VLot 25

5.4.1 Strategies 25

5.4.2 Motives 26

5.5 ASKV (Amsterdams Solidariteits Komitee Vluchtelingen) 27

5.5.1 Strategies 27 5.5.2 Motives 28 5.6 Toevlucht 28 5.6.1 Strategies 28 5.6.2 Motives 29 5.7 Seguro 30 5.7.1 Strategies 30 5.7.2 Motives 31 5.8 SVZV 31 5.8.1 Strategies 31 5.8.2 Motives 32

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5.9 LOS (Landelijk Ongedocumenteerden Steunpunt) 33

5.9.1 Strategies 33

5.9.2 Motives 33

6. Reviewing with policy makers at the municipal level 36

6.1 Policy officer at the municipality of Eindhoven 36

6.2 Policy officer at the municipality of Tilburg 37

6.3 Policy officer at the municipality of Utrecht 39

6.4 Conclusion 40

7. Conclusion 43

7.1 Research question 43

7.2 Reflections on methods 44

7.3 Reflection on theory 45

7.4 Implications and policy recommendations 46

8. Bibliography 48

9. Appendices 53

A. List of interviewees 53

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1. Introduction

1.1 Relevance of research

Ever since the harmonization of European immigration policies in the 1990s, reducing low-skilled migration and preventing asylum seekers from coming are top priorities for politicians and one can speak of the creation of Fortress Europe (Albrecht 2002; Engbersen & Broeders 2009). The national pressures that cause the desire to control immigration, have led to a convergence in European immigration policy (Lahav 2014: 457). As it became evident that European countries had the same interests in controlling immigration, treaties, conventions and summits that determine to whom the privileges of the European Union apply were established (ibid.) As the years went by, the notion that not only preventing immigrants from coming was sufficient in reducing the number of immigrants gained louder voice. A specific group of concern are irregular migrants. In recent years, irregular migrants have been a hot topic both in politics but also in the media. Only a few days before handing in this thesis, a well-known Dutch news platform stated that despite years of political discussion around the shelter and counselling of irregular migrants, figures are missing to say something meaningful about the different approaches that are used in the Netherlands to handle irregular migrants (NOS.nl 2018). This confirms the necessity and relevance of research done in the field of irregular migration. Therefore, this thesis will contribute to the development of more knowledge regarding irregular migrants in the Netherlands.

National governments are actively trying to exclude irregular migrants from social welfare benefits by constituting new laws and implementing more restrictive policies, among which is the government of the Netherlands. These social welfare benefits include access to the labour market, access to social rental housing, social security, rent subsidy and education. The implementation of more restrictive immigration measures and the creation of exclusionist policies to exclude (irregular) immigrants from society once they are in, will not be effective as long as states are not able to influence the powerful underlying sources that are driving international migration movements (Engbersen & Broeders 2009). Ambrosini and Van der Leun (2015: 103) importantly note that “in addition to state policies, and to a certain extent in reaction to these, civil society has also responded to the presence and needs of immigrants, including those without residence rights”. Some have expressed an anti-immigrant sentiment, emphasizing the importance of national values and identity, while others have reacted from a more altruistic and humanitarian perspective aimed at supporting the most vulnerable individuals from the immigrant population, among which are irregular

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migrants, by providing fundamental basic services. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) belong to civil society, and will be the subject of analysis in this research. The gap between the national and local level has been subject of research in a variety of researches, but these researches mainly focus on the gap between the national government and local government. This research therefore would like to add a third dimension and explore the NGO perspective. As it will turn out, they carry out important tasks that they think should be carried out by the national government in the first place. Research on this subject with an emphasis on the work of NGOs is very scarce but important. This thesis fills a scientific gap as not much is known about the organizations that provide help to irregular migrants. I would like to draw upon a contention from the research executed by Ambrosini and Van der Leun (2015: 105), who argue that the growth of the amount of exclusionary policies for irregular migrants from services that belong to the social welfare state, has given more space and responsibility to civil society organizations to counter and cushion national policies and conciliate national policies with migrants’ needs. Often driven by humanitarian values, NGOs try to fill the gap that results from non-conclusive and restrictive government policies (Van der Leun 2006). The research question that is central in this thesis is two fold. On the one hand, it will be researched why NGOs are trying to fill and influence the gap that results from non-conclusive and restrictive government policies in the field of irregular migrant policy and the needs of irregular migrants. On the other hand, this research will try to find out what strategies the NGOs use to support irregular migrants in the Netherlands.

1.2 Scope of research

It is known that a variety of civil society actors are active in providing help to irregular migrants, but for this research this broad field has to be narrowed down, therefore object of study will be non-governmental organizations and to a lesser extent also municipalities. As Leerkes, Engbersen and Van San (2007: 1492) have shown that irregular migrants are concentrated in urban areas, organizations in urban areas were contacted. This research explores the role played by non-governmental organizations in countering national policy regarding irregular migrants. It will be investigated what the motives are for different organizations in providing help, and strategies they use to stand up for the rights of irregular migrants. Interviews were conducted in the Dutch cities Amsterdam, Breda, Heerlen, Leiden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam and Utrecht to gain better insight about how and why they are active in providing help to irregular migrants. In all of these cities, organizations are active that counter national policy that aims at excluding irregular migrants, often - but not always -

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supported by municipalities in which they operate. The national government is often not very encouraging towards these initiatives due to the presumed ‘attractive effect’ (aanzuigende werking), municipalities however are more likely to be concerned with helping irregular migrants (See: Kos, Maussen & Doomernik 2015) and therefore the relation NGOs have with municipalities is worth analysing. For that reason, three policy makers from three different Dutch municipalities were interviewed and asked about their relation with NGOs active in their municipalities. They were asked about their opinion on irregular migrants and how to handle them.

1.3 Structure of this thesis

This thesis is divided in several chapters. Chapter 2 will provide the reader with contextual knowledge to better understand the position of irregular migrants in the Netherlands, since measures taken by the Dutch government to exclude this group of individuals from social welfare benefits in the last thirty years have sharpened. Chapter 3 outlines the theoretical framework on which this research is based. In Chapter 4 the methodology as well as the way the data was collected and analysed will be discussed. The use of semi-structured, in-depth interviews as a way of data collection emphasizes the qualitative nature of this research. Chapter 5 will present the results of the research that was conducted. In Chapter 6, the results from the interviews with policy makers from three Dutch municipalities will be presented as well as a schematic overview of how the different actors involved in this research relate to each other. To conclude, Chapter 7 will answer the research question, reflects on the theory an methods, and addresses implications and limitations of this research.

1.4 Research question

The research question that is central in this research is twofold. First, the aim is to find out why NGOs are active in countering and filling the gap that exists between non-conclusive and exclusive government policies on the one hand, and the needs of irregular migrants on the other hand. Second, the research question is concerned with how NGOs are active in countering and filling the gap. In order to answer these two questions, several aspects need to be investigated. Based on desk research, the following sub questions will be answered: what is an irregular migrant and how is Dutch national policy regarding irregular migrants designed?

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2. Contextualization

In order to place the theoretical framework in the right context, it is useful to elaborate the position of (irregular) migrants in the Netherlands a bit further. This section will give a brief overview of changing government policies towards irregular migrants over the last decades and local actions to counter national policies.

Historically speaking, the Netherlands is often well known for its tolerance (Entzinger 2006: 121; Entzinger 2014: 59; Vasta 2007; 714). Already in the sixteenth century, the Netherlands welcomed French Huguenots who were prosecuted in France for their religious conviction. Later, it remained neutral during the First World War, which resulted in one million refugees from Belgium. During the Second World War, many Jews seeked refuge in the Netherlands among whom was Anne Frank, the symbol for Jewish suffering during the Second World War. During the 1960s and 1970s when the Dutch economy looked auspicious, many guest workers from Mediterranean countries like Morocco, Italy, Turkey and Spain were warmly welcomed to supply Dutch employers with the workforce they could not find in the Netherlands (Vasta 2007). What followed were a lot of Surinamese in the second half of the 1970s due to the independence of former Dutch colony Surinam and many Eastern Europeans in the 1990s as the fall of the iron curtain marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the erosion of the Yugoslavian Republic. The ‘pillarisation’ of Dutch society where every religion had the right to state sponsored institutions, was an important aspect of integration policy in the twentieth century. In contrary to what Vasta (2007) states, the Netherlands was not a homogenous country but rather heterogeneous because of the pillarization. The existence of multiple national minority groups that could all claim their own state sponsored institutions has fragmented Dutch society ever since the pillarization started in the 1920’s (Duyvendak & Scholten 2012). One can say that instead of transforming from a homogenous to a heterogeneous country, new minorities have come to the Netherlands that made the country even more diverse. These new minorities could also claim state sponsored institutions, which the Dutch government thought would encourage their integration. The Ethnic Minorities Policy was implemented in 1983, which was aiming at integrating newcomers to Dutch society and creating better access for them to the labour market (Vasta 2007). However, academics were critical towards the Ethnic Minorities Policy and their impact on improving integration in Dutch society since the existence of state sponsored institutions prevented minority groups from blending in (Entzinger 2006; Vasta 2007). During the 1990s, different kinds of policies were implemented in order to restrict and

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regulate the entrance of migrants, the most notable were the Alien Act, the Compulsory Identification Act and the Marriages of Convenience Act (Engbersen & Broeders 2009: 872; Bommes & Sciortino 2011: 174). In previous years it had become clear that a high percentage was economic inactive for a prolonged time, and this raised questions about the suspected ‘softness’ of the Dutch policy (Rusinovic et al. 2002: 4). Not only was the focus on restricting and regulating entrance of migrants, also the exclusion of irregular migrants became a main target of the Dutch migration policy. Since 1991, employers risk a fine for hiring irregular migrants, as immigration status is checked when an employee is being hired on the formal labour market (Leerkes 2016: 142). However, the most significant and relevant was the Linkage Act of 1998. It aimed at excluding those who were not entitled to receive benefits granted by the welfare state (Engbersen & Broeders 2009: 872). Unemployment benefits and social housing since then are not available for those who do not have a valid residence permit as immigration status is checked as a request for entitlement to those services has been submitted (Leerkes 2016).

In the beginning of the 21st century, anti-immigrant sentiments rose among many Western countries. According to Entzinger (2006: 129), anti-immigrant sentiments in the Netherlands rose after the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001 and the assassination of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002. Fortuyn - well known for his anti-Islamic rhetoric - was not against immigration, but rather worried about the reconcilability of Western democratic values and the presence of foreigners who were not familiar with those values (ibid.). In the following years, combating irregular immigration became a focal point of Dutch immigration policy (Entzinger 2006), although this seems somewhat contradictory to the appreciation of cheap and flexible labour forces (Van der Leun 2004: 75). What has emerged in a response is a patchwork of easy approachable local organizations who provide help to irregular migrants (Van der Leun 2004). Leerkes (2016: 144) describes how not only NGOs have developed “social safety nets” for specific groups of irregular migrants, but also municipalities have been involved. Research among the Dutch Association of Municipalities indicated that “1000 persons, spread over 170 of the approximately 400 municipalities, were receiving what the municipalities call ‘gemeentelijke noodopvang’ (‘municipal emergency shelter’)” (Leekes 2016: 144). The government has been condemnatory towards municipal and other non-governmental arrangements in helping irregular migrants “[as they] undermine its efforts to make deportable migrants leave the territory” (Leerkes 2016: 144). NGOs and municipalities counter this argument by arguing that the non-conclusive return policy of the

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national government has left them with no other options than to help those who are excluded (ibid.).

NGOs and municipalities are not the only ones that have expressed their concerns about the situation of irregular migrants in the Netherlands. The Dutch Protestant Church filed a complaint in 2013 at the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) claiming that there was a shortage of basic needs (food, shelter and clothing) for irregular migrants (Amnesty International & Stichting LOS 2017: 9). The ECSR in 2014 decided in favour of the Dutch Protestant Church and pointed out that the Dutch government was violating the European Social Charter (ESC) by not granting irregular migrants access to basic services (ibid.). Actions by the municipalities to provide shelter to irregular migrants were regarded as a necessity and the Dutch government was obliged to financially compensate them. However, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher announced in 2015 that from then on, ‘bed-bath-bread’ initiatives in all cities but Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, The Hague and Ter Apel would be closed in order to get a better grip on the amount of irregular migrants in the Netherlands. Resistance against this initiative was found in a lot of municipalities as several announced that they would continue with giving ‘bed-bath-bread’, if necessary at their own expense.

The formation of a new government in the aftermath of elections in 2017, turned out to be very troublesome as what was thought of to be the most suitable parties to form the new government could not agree on the themes of asylum and migration policy (NOS.nl 2017). 225 days after the election took place, conformity was reached among parties who overcame their differences. The government agreement included the clear words that those individuals residing in the country irregularly should leave the country as soon as possible. In order to realize the return of irregularly residing individuals in the Netherlands, 8 National Foreigners Facility (Landelijke Vreemdelingen Voorzieningen or LVV) are to be established. These should end the ‘bed-bath-bread’ initiatives of municipalities (Government Agreement 2017: 54). However, not a word was said about the initiatives of NGOs that help irregular migrants. The LVVs are aimed at the return of the irregular migrant, and if there is an absence of will to cooperate with return, reception and support will be terminated (ibid.).

Concluding, one can say that over the years the Dutch immigration policy has become more restrictive and exclusive, especially towards irregular migrants. This has given rise not only to municipal initiatives that counter national policies, but also initiatives by NGOs aimed at helping irregular migrants.

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3. Theoretical framework

This chapter will provide theoretical guidance to the topic of this research. The first section will provide the reader with a thorough discussion of the concept ‘irregular migrant’. In addition, the first section also links the concept of irregular migrants to the case of the Netherlands. The second section identifies and clarifies theory about the policy gap regarding irregular migrant policy and how local practices do not comply with national policy objectives. In the third section, the humanitarianization of migration politics will be discussed. Consequently in the fourth section theoretical insights will address the power of NGOs as it explains why they are active in countering national policy. The concluding fifth section will provide the reader with a conclusion of the theory and expectations for the research.

3.1 Conceptualization of irregular migrant

Since the 1990s, irregular migration has increasingly been perceived as a social problem for European countries, especially those in Northern Europe (Broeders & Engbersen 2009). The concept of irregular migration is contested, and terms as ‘illegal’, ‘unauthorized’ and ‘undocumented’ are used interchangeably. Drawing on Düvell’s (2011: 275) widely accepted notion of irregular migration “irregular migration is not an independent social phenomenon but exists in relation to state policies and is a social, political and legal construction”. States in their turn are responsible for the creation of what is regarded as ‘illegal’. It is argued that states to a large extent contribute to the creation of illegal migration by limiting and restricting the ways of immigrating legally, which results in the creation of irregular ways of immigrating (Düvell 2011). The Dutch government uses the term ‘illegals’, hereby referring to “the presence in the Netherlands of foreign nationals who are not in possession of a valid residence permit and are therefore obliged to leave the country” (Vreemdelingenwet 2000: paragraph 57). This thesis will adhere to the same definition, but instead of ‘illegal’, the author will use the term ‘irregular’. By using the word ‘illegal’, associations with crime are more easily made. Schrover et al. (2008: 10) note that “migrants themselves can never be illegal, only their activities can be regarded illegal”. The legal production of illegality as an identity, has social and political implications in so far that it creates inequalities between those who are regarded as ‘illegal’ and those who are regarded ‘legal’, with the former being denied basic “fundamental human rights and many rudimentary social entitlements” (De Genova 2002: 439). Because of the aforementioned, the author prefers using ‘irregular’ over

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‘illegal’. There are roughly three ways of becoming irregular: overstaying a visa, being a former asylum seeker and entering the country in an irregular way. This highlights the fact that who is regarded an irregular migrant now, did not have to be an irregular migrants in the past, or will be an irregular migrant in the future.

Estimating the amount of irregular migrants is difficult, since it is a hard job counting people who are located below the radar. The most recent figures show that the total amount of irregular migrants illegally residing in the Netherlands is estimated at 35.530 (Van Der Heijden, Cruyff & Gils, 2015: 1). However, this number must be taken with caution since the method used to estimate the number, the so-called capture-recapture method, might easily over- or underestimate the amount of individuals in a population (see: Tilling 2001). Research from Leerkes et al. (2007: 1492) has indicated that irregular migrants in the Netherlands are mainly concentrated in urban areas. The spatial settlement of irregular migrants is likely to be determined by several factors like social capital, labour opportunities and the availability of accessible housing (Leerkes et al. 2007: 1494). Although irregular migrants are expected to leave the country as soon as possible, for some reasons they might not be possible or willing to do so. Table 1 shows the amount of aliens without the right to stay that have left the Netherlands in 2017. In total, 15120 have left the Netherlands, of whom 9020 did leave independent, without supervision of the Service for Return and Departure (DT&V) (Ministry of Safety and Justice 2018). According to the DT&V, the alien is responsible for their own departure from the Netherlands. The DT&V only stimulates and supports the alien. According to the Ministry of Safety and Justice (2018) ‘leaving without supervision’ means that the alien is not present at the last known address, but it cannot be assured that the person de facto has left the country. One can think of an asylum seeker who is not available for the duty to report, an alien who, after an address check, does not live at the known address or an alien who received a notification to leave the Netherlands. This notion has major implications and may reveal a gap between national policy and policy outcomes. The Dutch government may mistakenly think the alien has left the country, while de facto the alien did not leave, but just is not present at the last known address. In this way, the Dutch government administratively removes the irregular migrant from the country, but it is unlikely that person actually has returned (Kos et al. 2015). The effectiveness of the return policy is therefore questionable.

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Return in 2017 N %

Independent return 3400 22,48%

Forced return 2700 17,86%

Independent return without supervision 9020 59,66%

Total 15120 100%

Table 1: amount of aliens without the right to stay that have returned in 2017 (Ministry of Safety and Justice 2018

3.2 Migration policy gap

Already in the 1990s, various authors noted that states have lost control over their migration policies, as they were not able to restrict unwanted migration (Freeman 1995; Sassen 1996; Joppke 1998). This argument remained of great importance in the 2000s (See: Hollifield 2000; Joppke 2002; Boswell 2007; Broeders & Engbersen 2007) and still in the 2010s the argument seems valid (See: Kos et al.; Van der Leun & Bouter; 2015). It is said that due to this loss of control, national governments are not able to effectively implement the desired restrictive policies (Bonjour 2011: 92). States have lost control because of the increased defence of individual rights in courts that has made it more difficult for states to deny entry to foreigners (ibid.). Judicial activism (See: Cornelius, Martin and Hollifield 1994: 9) has opened up new possibilities for minority groups to expand their rights. Choices for the development of restrictive national policies by states are thus restricted by international human rights norms (ibid.). Lahav and Guiraudon (2006) however argue that the impact of international human rights norms is limited: existing human rights conventions tried to protect people from removal by influencing state policies to some extent, but the sovereignty of countries to determine who is able to enter, stay and who not remains untouchable. A question one could ask is why states then would ratify human rights treaties. The paradox of empty promises might be a useful, but at the same time a radical explanation. Hafner-Burton and Tsutsui (2005) argue that on the one hand states ratify human rights treaties in order to be granted legitimacy in the eyes of other states while the policy goals differ from the practical outcome, a concept also known as “window-dressing”. On the other hand, growing importance for human rights advocates from civil society may emphasize the importance of human rights treaties and may pressure states to improve human right practices (ibid.). Nation

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states commit themselves formally to human rights treaties, but at the same time they violate these legal commitments (Hafner-Burton & Tsutsui 2005). Therefore, their commitments can be viewed as empty. Treaties do not offer material, legal or political rewards and to punish violators is therefore a hard job (idem: 1384). An important role is thus reserved for civil society as they can enforce what the weak institutional mechanisms of human rights treaties cannot do. This in turn empowers non-state actors with tools to pressure governments, but also gives them legitimacy to carry out actions themselves. Non state actors like NGOs do so by “bring[ing] attention to discrepancies between international human rights law, national law, policies, and implementation in practice” and filling the gap that has resulted from non-conclusive policies by the national government, thereby taking matters into their own hands (Biswas, Toebes, Hjern, Ascher, & Norredam 2012: 57). Gibney (2004) also acknowledges this paradoxicality as he argues that Western states put great importance on principles of asylum, but take all measures needed in order to prevent the most vulnerable from reaching their territory. One can view the previous as radical as this situation is not completely valid for the Netherlands. The importance of the existence of human rights treaties is recognized in the Dutch constitution, and compared to other countries the human rights situation in Western countries is satisfactory. However the paradox of empty promises can explain how in the eyes of NGOs, states do not fully commit themselves to ratified human rights treaties which in turn legitimizes actions taken by NGOs.

Czaika & de Haas (2013: 489 have noted that “international migration policies are rules (i.e., laws, regulations, and measures) that national states define and implement with the (often only implicitly stated) objective of affecting the volume, origin, direction, and internal composition of immigration flows”. Objectives can be made explicit by the government. For example, the Dutch government encourages high skilled labour migration while at the same time irregular migrants should leave the country as soon as possible (Government Agreement 2017). Gaps exist between the formulated policy and the actual outcomes, where the policy objectives may serve competing interests. Czaika & de Haas (2013: 493) note that migration policies are usually “the outcome of a compromise”, therefore it might be impossible to consolidate the different interests of the stakeholders involved in a policy and this might result in a policy gap. This also has important consequences for the effectiveness of the policy. Czaika and de Haas (2013: 494) have called this difference between the policies on paper and the actual implementation of the policy the implementation gap.

Literature on how local practices often do not comply with national policy is expanding, and various authors have been writing about it extensively (Van der Leun 2006;

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Broeders & Engbersen 2013; Kos et al. 2015.) Firstly, the effectiveness of internal migration control is influenced by social and political realities. They are subject to policy ambiguities (Cornelius & Tsuda 2004). The differences between policy, politics and civil society may result from ambiguous policies and actors with different interest can be pleased by this ambiguity. Besides this ambiguity there is another problem. It can be of great importance for governments or politicians to convince the public that certain things are being dealt with, even if in practice they are not capable of doing so, or sometimes it is simply impossible (Rusinovic et al. (2002). Rusinovic et al. (2002) have pointed out that we see these elements in the irregular immigration policy. Because of the gap between formal migration control and their implementation, vertical policy incongruities can emerge (ibid.). These incongruities represent tensions between different policy levels and horizontal policy incongruities may exist if the objectives of policy in different domains conflict with each other (ibid.).

Broeders & Engbersen (2013: 17) argue that “policy ambiguities are often the result of competing economic, political, professional and humanitarian interests”. Resistance from a variety of actors among which are civil society groups and municipalities, oppose national determined policies and might determine to put their ethics above government policies (ibid.). The solidarity that is offered at the local level by non governmental organizations has created more opportunities for irregular migrants to survive in the Netherlands than the national government considers desirable based on the restrictive immigration policy (Van der Leun 2004: 82). The increased implementation of neoliberal ideology and the retrenchment of the welfare state have led to the devolution of social services to non-profit organizations (Almog-Bar & Schmid 2013). This neoliberal ideology is characterized by the toughening of immigration measures in recent years aimed at excluding irregular migrants, and has revealed a gap between national policies and their actual outcome (Ambrosini 2015). Restrictive measures imposed by the national government are softened by local practices in order to prevent violations of human rights (Castañeda 2007). Relying on research from Ambrosini (2017: 594), “the local authorities have adopted a broader approach to governance based on interaction and negotiation between decision makers and organised civil society – for the purposes of service delivery and sometimes, less obviously, in an urban planning perspective”. The ineffectiveness of these more restrictive policies by the national government might partly be connected to the activism of NGOs (Ambrosini 2015: 117).

Tonkens & Duyvendak (2001) have identified two different reactions to the problems resulting from migration policy: the liberal response and the progressive response. The liberal response holds that intervention is essential when people damage others or their

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surroundings, like with nuisance or criminality. This view has put more attention on the security framework. Lahav & Guiraudon (2006) agree with this point of view as they argue that states increasingly have connected immigration policy to the security framework (Lahav & Guiraudon 2006). This has resulted in both the externalisation of border control in order to prevent unwanted migrants from coming and the increasing internal border control to effectively deal with migrants who, despite all measures taken, have reached the country (ibid.). The progressive response is not based on the damaging character of foreigners, but is concerned with the quality of life of individuals. When the quality is at risk, intervention is justified (Tonkens & Duyvendak 2001). Both responses have led to more attention to marginalized groups, be it in a very different way.

3.3 Humanitarianization of migration politics

The constitution of an international humanitarian order that is dedicated to preserve and protect human rights has emerged over the last decades (Barnett 2012). Norms, laws and discourses have been established that legitimize different “kinds of interventions to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations” (idem: 485). Among these are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights just to name a few, all of which aim to protect the life of individuals exposed to life threatening risks. NGOs demand better access to social rights for irregular migrants based on “human rights norms and international human rights agreements as a central argument for legitimating irregular migrants’ access to social rights” (Laubenthal 2011: 1363). The witnessing of suffering has given rise to concepts of charity, compassion and advocating action for moral reasons (Castañeda 2011: 4). Humanitarianism is a result of the change in the public consciousness in the 18th century and individuals as well as international organizations have been providing relief to the vulnerable that are suffering (ibid.). The aforementioned concepts are also linked to the responsibility and obligation of the international community to protect its weakest members (Barnett 2012: 486). Pallister Wilkins (2015: 54) has noted that “humanitarianism forms the basis for many counter responses by civil society groups and transnational human rights institutions challenging border policing practices today”. The legitimacy of these counter responses is justified on the grounds that they are consistent with the interests of the vulnerable (Barnett 2012). State-led approaches that were perceived as failed were at the basis of NGOs as an alternative “offering innovative and people-centred approaches to service delivery, advocacy and empowerment” (Banks & Hulme 2012: 3).

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Tsuda (2006) describes how in industrialized cities in Japan, a country with an exclusive policy towards foreigners, citizen activists have combined forces to defend the immigrant population that suffers from a lack of access to social welfare services such as health care and education. He names an example of a group of Japanese women who organized themselves to provide language courses to immigrant adults and their children in order to improve their educational opportunities. Organizations have been active in “fill[ing] the gap between obsolete governmental policies and the social problems they have imposed upon immigrants” (Tsuda 2006: 99). The convergence of European policy making has given power to civil society organizations “to hold their governments accountable” and “inform public debate” (Bauer & Bromley 2004: 20). Hereby referring to the established European institutions that guard whether or not national governments comply with the European institutions.

Humanitarianism gave rise to the so-called paradox of protection. On the one hand there is the need to protect people from any harm of which they might suffer, on the other hand there is an increasing amount of states and individuals who feel the need to protect ‘their’ territory (Pallister Wilkins 2015: 54). “It is important to see humanitarianism not as a value-neutral field but as an act based on relations and hierarchies of power and utilized for the governance of populations” (Pallister Wilkins 2015: 59). Examining how advocates for "illegal" migrants carry out their work within constraints can yield important insights into how law is eluded, negotiated, and even affirmed (Cook 2011: 564). The power of humanitarianism resides in its ability to challenge governmental authorities by naming and shaming (Cook 2011: 566). Cook (2011: 566) acknowledges that doubts about whose job it is to carry out humanitarian work: governments or private actors. In the eyes of human rights activists the attempts by the governments often are not satisfactory, although states have increasingly been involved in humanitarian practices (ibid.).

3.4 The power of NGOs

Since the end of the Cold War, a myriad of NGOs have emerged that seek to intervene in state affairs. Justifications are universalist with a focus on human rights. Traditionally, scholars claim that over the years, non-state actors have become more powerful at the expense of states (Tsutsui & Minwotipka 2004). According to Beer, Bartley & Roberts (2012: 326) ”NGOs are formal voluntary organizations with specific privileges and restrictions – that is, tax exemptions but no excessive private gain by insiders – granted by the state”. Their authority is based on normative principles, and their emphasis on

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humanitarian goals and the public interests is what distinguishes them from non-profit organizations (ibid.). Scholars have been writing about the goals of NGOs extensively. For this research, two goals of NGOs will be highlighted. Almog-Bar and Schmid (2013: 12) have stated that “most nonprofit activity is undertaken by organizations that combine advocacy with the provision of services, usually their primary goal”.

It is said that NGOs are active in providing services to those individuals who are being excluded from access to services by the state (Castañeda 2011: 1; Banks & Hulme 2012: 4; Laubenthal 2011). The rising social demands, and the declined capacity or willingness of the state to provide certain services, accompanied by external pressure on the state leaves greater room for service provision by NGOs (Beer et al. 2012: 328). Different kinds of service delivery can be distinguished, for example health care (Castañeda 2011), shelter (Van der Leun & Bouter 2015), education (Laubenthal 2011) and legal and social counselling (Koser 2005).

Advocacy generates attention to social problems and organizes pressure on states (Beer et al. 2012). Additionally, advocacy aims at challenging the status quo (Jordan and Van Tuijl 2000: 2053). Under the overarching concept of advocacy fall different activities for NGOs to reach their goal, among which are providing information, raising financial resources and agenda setting and strategy building (Jordan and Van Tuijl 2000). They emphasize that information is “the most powerful tool” (idem: 2055). NGOs expose truths that are not in favour of the interests of those who possess the power (ibid.). Different organizations have been active in publishing reports and sending out newsletters in order to advocate for the rights for irregular migrants (Koser 2005). Raising financial resources is a second important aspect of advocacy. Usually, the bigger the organization, the bigger the budget and the wider the scope of advocacy activities (Almog-Bar & Schmid 2013). Bigger organizations additionally are financially more stable and depend less on governmental support for carrying out their activities (ibid.). The third aspect of advocacy is agenda setting and strategy building. Liu, Lindquist, Vedlitz & Vincent (2010: 71) have defined agenda setting as “a process in which certain public problems are identified, recognized, and defined, and specific solutions or alternatives are generated, considered, and attached to these problems”. The objectives of a NGO determine the advocacy agenda, and consequently it is necessary to establish a strategy on how to set the agenda (Almog-Bar & Schmid 2013). Where larger NGOs might engage in different kinds of activities, it is likely that smaller NGOs may specialize in just one activity (Beer et al. 2012).

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As already pointed out by Rusinovic et al. (2002), the toughening of immigration policy in the Netherlands and the slimming of the safety net that the Dutch government provides to irregular migrants has resulted in the creation of an alternative safety net by multiple organisations, groups and individuals who view the national policy regarding irregular migrants as inhumane and considered it their responsibility to jump in. However, as the capacity and financial resources of organizations do not allow it to help all, organizations have to determine who deserves their help most.

Sales (2002) outlines how in Great Britain, ‘refugees’ (recognized as such by international conventions) are more likely to be identified as ‘deserving’ while the bogus asylum seekers are identified as ‘undeserving’. However, the lines between who the law determines to be able to access services and the ones not able to access services became faded since the restructure of the welfare system has increasingly included organizations who provide access to welfare services. Especially vulnerability has turned out to be a criteria which turns the ‘undeserving’ into the ‘deserving’ (Chauvin & Garcés-Mascareñas 2014: 429).

Research from Van der Leun and Bouter (2015) showed that NGOs are likely to support irregular migrants based on hard and soft criteria. Having either good perspectives of regularizing their irregular stay, or the willingness to cooperate on voluntary return are viewed as hard criteria. They found out that “when an irregular immigrant actively and demonstrably cooperates with return he or she receives shelter as long as needed”, instead of the maximum of 3 months of shelter that the national government in the Netherlands provides (Van der Leun & Bouter 2015: 147). Among soft criteria are the following: “self-sufficiency, availability of alternatives, and vulnerability of the immigrant” (idem: 148). Furthermore, behaviour and attitude are characteristics that decide whether or not a person will be helped by a NGO (ibid.). The more proactive and assertive a person is, the likelier it will be that the person will be helped by the NGO (Van der Leun & Bouter 2015). Contrariwise, a person who for example does not show up at appointments or waste his or her money on beer will be less likely to be helped in the future (idem). This inevitably leads to unequal treatment, as some are more likely to be assisted than others based on the criteria NGOs use to determine who to help.

3.5 Conclusion

The theory outlined above has provided the reader with a clear definition of the concept irregular migrants: “The presence in the Netherlands of foreign nationals who are not in

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possession of a valid residence permit and are therefore obliged to leave the country” (Vreemdelingenwet 2000: paragraph 57). The legal construction of ‘irregularity’ shows that migrants themselves cannot be seen as irregular, only their actions can be viewed as such. In principle, the Dutch way of ‘administratively removing’ irregular migrants while de facto they have not left the country is problematic, as it leaves many irregular migrants condemned to live on the streets. The desired restrictive policies aimed at excluding irregular migrants have its limits, as policies on paper and policies in practice differ due to different interests between actors at various levels. This reveals a policy gap and as a result policy incongruencies can emerge, which shows tensions between different policy levels (national vs. local). It was shown that while states ratify human rights treaties to “window-dress” as they not want to be viewed as deviant actors, these human rights treaties give legitimacy to NGOs to counter government policies that to not comply with these human rights treaties (Hafner-Burton & Tsutsui 2005). Their actions are likely to be motivated for humanitarian reasons complimented by the fact that the national government does not take action themselves. Based on theoretical research, I expect that strategies used by NGOs to help irregular migrants will be focused on service provision (education, shelter, legal and social counselling and medical help) and advocacy (agenda setting and strategy building, raising financial resources and providing information). Furthermore, theory showed that it is likely NGOs are not able to help everyone, and therefore they have to stick to certain criteria that determine who they will help. These criteria include vulnerability, future perspective, willingness to cooperate, availability of alternatives and self-sufficiency.

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4. Methodology

4.1 Research design

The study uses a deductive approach. After extensive theoretical research, expectations were formulated and it will be researched whether the expectations hold in this case. The best-suited research method for answering the research question was by conducting a qualitative research. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used as a method of data collection. An advantage of using semi-structured interviews is that it gives the researcher “some latitude to ask further questions in response to what are seen as significant replies” (Bryman 2012: 212). Using semi-structured interviews will give guidance to the conversation, but at the same time leaves enough space for the interviewees to express their perspectives. The ability to ask meaningful questions allows the researcher to gain a better understanding of the role of NGOs in the field of irregular migrants. The interviews are likely to provide useful information in answering the research question about how and why NGOs try to fill and counter the policy gap resulting from non-conclusive government policies and migrants’ needs. It is interesting to compare how different NGOs act, and for what reasons. As it will be likely that whereas some might focus more on influencing policy, others focus more on providing services.

4.2 Sample

This research uses purposive sampling. According to Bryman (2014: 418): “Purposive sampling is a non-probability form of sampling.” Participants are sampled with the research question in mind and based on their relevance to the research question (ibid.). Keeping in mind the research question, the author has contacted a large amount of NGOs active in helping irregular migrants. NGOs across the Netherlands were contacted by telephone and email and asked if they were willing to participate in a semi-structured interview for the purpose of a thesis for a master student. Despite multiple attempts to contact the NGOs in different ways, more than half of all the contacted NGOs were not willing or able to cooperate. The total amount of NGOs that were interviewed for this research were nine, which is less than I hoped for. I am aware that this may affect the external validity of my research, and results are therefore not generalizable. However, purposive sampling in general has as characteristic that it “does not allow the researcher to generalize to a population” (Bryman 2014: 418). To a large extent theoretical saturation was reached, since the

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interviews confirmed theoretical expectations and even brought up new findings for which the theory had no explanation.

Different criteria were used in order to determine which actors would be interviewed. Firstly, I aimed at including as many organizations as possible from as many different Dutch cities as possible. As the context of this study is focused on irregular migrants in the Netherlands, only Dutch cities were included. The sample includes organizations from medium to large sized cities, as Leerkes et al. (2007: 1492) have shown that irregular migrants in the Netherlands are mostly concentrated in urban areas. Secondly, I aimed at including organizations of different sizes. Smaller (1-15 employees or volunteers) and bigger (>15) organizations were contacted. Thirdly, proximity was a criterion on which respondents were selected; all participants were localized at a maximum travel distance by public transport of approximately two hours. These criteria were selected a priori. Municipalities were also included because the theory mentioned in Chapter 3 showed that municipalities occupied an important role, as they are located in a split between what government policies say, and what they see on practice in their cities. Several municipalities later on confirmed this and therefore it was decided to also include a few municipalities. The reason this research only includes three different municipalities is because the main focus of this thesis is on the NGOs. Therefore an unequal distribution of the respondents in favour of policymakers would not honour the aim of this thesis. The municipalities were chosen based on a few criteria. First, from what I heard from the interviewed NGO, the municipalities of Utrecht and Eindhoven carry out a very humane and inclusive policy regarding irregular migrants. For that reason I decided to contact these municipalities. As I studied in Tilburg before, I knew Tilburg also hosts many refugees, and inevitably has to deal with irregular migrants too. This made me decide to also contact this municipality. Furthermore, research towards irregular migrants tends to be focussed on municipalities in ‘The Randstad’, the urban district in which the biggest cities of the Netherlands are located. Therefore I thought it would be interesting to interview two southern municipalities as well. The interviewees did not receive any kind of financial compensation, neither were gifts provided to the participants. All interviews were held in the time span between 1 April and 8 May 2018, at the offices of the actors involved. It needs to be mentioned that the policymakers interviewed all worked for municipalities that strive for a humanitarian policy towards irregular migrants, and the results from the interviews might not be generalizable to municipalities that take a tough stand towards irregular migrants.

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4.3 Standardization

In order to standardize the research as much as possible, a few measures were taken. Firstly, all interviews were conducted by the same interviewer, what benefits the internal reliability. Secondly, all interviews were held along the same procedures. In order to standardize the interview process, the following steps were taken during the interview. First, all interviewees were thanked for their participation. Second, an indication of the total time of the interview, 45 minutes, was given. Third, interviewees of the NGOs were asked for permission to record the interview. Recording the interview enables the researcher to listen to the interview another time to make sure that the right points were taken and nothing will be forgotten, since our memory has limitations. Furthermore, recording the interviews makes secondary analysis possible, which enables other researchers to judge the analysis made and eliminate another researcher’s biases or values (Bryman 2012). If the interviewee did not agree with recording the interview, only a notebook was used to make notes during the interview. During interviews with the policy makers, only a notebook was used to write down interesting answers. Fourth, among all the different questions that were asked, the main questions for the interview were asked to each respondent. This includes questions about: the main functions and tasks of the organization, the network in which they operate, the motives from which the organization works, the importance of helping irregular migrants, how the interviewee views the national policy regarding irregular migrants, and the criteria the organization uses to determine who to help (see appendix B).

Thirdly, all respondents received an information sheet about the interview, which included the research aim, the research question, examples of interview questions, contact details of the interviewer, some information about the context of the interview and for what purposes and how the information from the interview would be used. This sheet can be found in appendix B1.

4.4 Ethics

It was made clear to the interviewees that at any time before, during or after the interview they were encouraged to ask any questions they had, either regarding the research itself, or about the interviews. Due to the vulnerability of irregular migrants, with regards to their legal

1 The interview sheet is in Dutch because all the respondents were Dutch. Due to the fact that a literal translation of the word ‘irregular’ is uncommon in the Dutch language, the researcher explicitly talks about ‘ongedocumenteerden’ in the interview sheet because it gives a stronger and clearer definition of the concept.

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status no sensitive information about irregular migrants was asked. Additionally, the names of the people that work for the NGOs are omitted, since their names are not relevant for the research.

4.5 Operationalization

To provide insight into how this research will answer the research question, operationalization of theoretical concepts is necessary. Figure 2 below will provide the reader with insights how theoretical concepts are made measurable. The two main concepts that need to be operationalized in this research are strategies and motives. The theoretical framework has provided the researcher with three dimensions and thirteen indicators in clarifying the concept. Interviews will be used to answer the research question, and the dimensions and indicators will provide guidance in the questions.

Concept Dimension Indicator

What are the strategies that NGOs use to fill the gap

Service provision Shelter

Health care

Education

Legal counselling

Social counselling

Advocacy Providing information

Agenda setting & strategy building

Raising financial resources

What motives do NGOs have to fill the gap?

Humanitarian Responsibility to protect weakest members

People centered

Acting in the interest of the vulnerable

Guarantee basic rights for all individuals

Inability or unwillingness of the state

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5. Strategies of NGOs to provide help to irregular migrants

The theoretical framework outlined earlier in this research has provided insights about the strategies used by NGOs to provide help to irregular migrants and about the motives driving the work of NGOs. Deriving from this framework, the following strategies were identified: providing services (education, health care, legal and social counselling, shelter) and advocacy (agenda setting and strategy building, providing information, raising financial resources). Motives are likely to be found in the humanitarian and human rights domain, and because of the unwillingness or incapacity of the state. The current chapter will provide the results from the qualitative research that was conducted, in the form of interviews with people, who voluntarily or paid, work for NGOs active in providing help to irregular migrants. Each paragraph of this chapter will briefly discuss the strategies used and motives driving NGO action. At the end of this chapter, similarities and differences between organizations will be discussed and the results then will be linked to the theoretical framework outlined earlier. 5.1 MCB (Mondiaal Centrum Breda)

5.1.1 Strategies

As the interview has made clear, main strategies in which MCB engages evolve mainly around service provision. Their main task is providing irregular migrants with a structural ‘bed-bath-bread’. It offers 20 individual bedrooms in which persons at least have some degree of privacy. Besides, the organization has added a fourth component to ‘bed-bath-bread’, namely counselling. Their counselling is mainly focussed at finding a sustainable solution, which is different for every person. The interviewee emphasized the counselling is not necessarily focussed at return. At the intake at the MCB, a contract is composed, that has to be signed by the client. A volunteer describes “We have a contract with the guest which states that they have to commit themselves to their own procedure. They have to participate actively in improving their future. Every three months we evaluate the expiring contract, and see how they have worked towards getting a better future.” Besides, it also provides their clients with different educational trainings, like sewing lessons, bicycle lessons and Dutch language courses. They furthermore offer legal counselling in cooperation with Vluchtelingenwerk, and facilitate access to medical help. Strikingly, the organizations provides their clients with an alternative MCB identification card, which is accepted by the police and general practicioners. Lastly, the organization emphasizes the importance to

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receive support from the neighbourhood for the work they are doing. Therefore, free entry to the ground floor of the monastery on every Monday and Friday morning is also for local residents where they can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and talk about small things or have deeper conversations.

5.1.2 Motives

MCB has emphasized that “nobody else takes the responsibility to care for this group” and therefore they feel the need to take action. Their activities are motivated by humanitarian reasons and mercifulness. The national government is not fulfilling their duty but the presence of irregular migrants on the streets cannot be ignored. “Our municipality does nothing therefore it is upon us to take action”. “The conflict between municipalities and the national government due to a lack of agreement between the two actors ensures that still no concrete and conclusive policy has been made with regards to irregular migrants, I think this conflict will be likely to exist in the future too because of the different interests”.

Furthermore, “there are no rules that protect this group, they do not fit into the existing laws”. “Universal human rights treaties expresses principles, responsibility is transferred to countries to give legal meaning to these treaties. The human rights treaties therefore need to be put into perspective”.

5.2 GAST (Geef asielzoekers een toevlucht)

5.2.1 Strategies

Based in Nijmegen, the organization is run by around fifty volunteers. Soon, they hire their first paid employee, a coordinator. The municipality supports their work, but GAST is careful with taking municipal subsidy because it strives to be independent and not bound to strict rules. Several criteria apply for them to determine whom they help. First, there has to be a demonstrable bond with Nijmegen. This counts in a broad sense, as also irregular migrants from surrounding towns are welcome. Second, they consider whether they are able to help a person. There is a focus on what comes after their help, and they strive for independency but also look at their capacity to help persons. “We look at whether we can help you with learning the Dutch language, can we teach you a profession, can we help you in following an education, or can we help you in your legal procedure to obtain a residence permit, so we can say goodbye to you within 1, 2 or 3 years.” The third criterion is legal perspective, although this is not the only criterion for receiving help from the organizations. This criterion

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was in the past more important than now. However, the volunteer describes: “if we have the choice we select the persons with legal perspective because it creates a certain flow in the organizations. This means that these people are more likely to leave earlier and this allows us to help other persons as well”. Their main strategy is providing shelter and granting a financial donation to the 15 men and 3 women to sustain themselves. Furthermore it offers medical and legal support, mainly financially. Dental care is excluded from the national ‘emergency health care’ offered to irregular migrants, therefore their financial compensation is necessary. Additionally, they pay for legal help from external organizations. The organization has a strong focus on educational activities. Guests are able to learn a profession, the Dutch language or follow an education. Examples are work in the garden, repairing bicycles and sewing. For the ones that do not like the aforementioned options, the organization also cooperates closely with the HAN University of Applied Sciences, ROC Nijmegen and Radboud University who allow guest from the organization to follow a course or education, even though the guests are not able to formally register and receive a diploma. The organization covers the travel expenses, books and school supplies and encourages their guests to follow an education. The interviewee highlighted the importance of actively participating in the society from the beginning.

Besides service provision, GAST is also active in advocacy. First, the organization is active in generating (financial) resources. Once a year, they go along the doors asking households for a financial compensation for the work they are doing. Additionally, multiple times a year they stand in front of the supermarkets asking customers if they are willing to donate shelf-life products like tea, coffee, toilet paper, canned food, diapers etc. The interviewee emphasized that it is important to remain on the public radar. Second, in cooperation with SNOV and Wereldvrouwenhuis they lobby for the new municipal coalition and put ‘irregular migrants’ on the political agenda. Remaining on the political agenda is an important objective. Third, they organize debate evenings to which the residents of Nijmegen are invited. Professors from the University and aldermen from the municipality are invited to talk and provide information to the public. The organization thus engages in all advocacy activities that were described in the theoretical framework.

5.2.2 Motives

The interviewee firmly states that “no person is illegal, and everybody has the right to be sheltered”. “For this target group, there is no regulated help, they are excluded but do need help” the interviewee continues. “The presence of these people cannot be ignored, and the

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national government obviously abandons irregular migrants”. The perceived ‘attractive effect’ of their work is nonsense according to the interviewee. “How luxurious is the way we take action? In the way we are operating now, there is nothing attractive”. The interview notes “Here in Nijmegen, we handle the situation very humane but Amsterdam pursues a discouragement policy for example restricting the amount of luggage one can take”. “The differences between cities are big, and these differences have to disappear. Here an important role is reserved for the national government”. “All humans are entitled to equal rights, but this does not happen in practice”. Furthermore, the interviewee remarks that the asylum application obviously contains flaws. “60-70% of our clients obtains some kind of residence permit after filing a new asylum application. First asylum applications often are (unfairly) negative, but our figures show that putting efforts in gathering the right documents results in the allocation of a residence status”.

5.3 STUV (Stichting Uitgeprocedeerde Vluchtelingen)

5.3.1 Strategies

Twenty volunteers and two paid employees run this Leiden based organization. They are financially supported by the municipality of Leiden, and the interviewee acknowledged that this has some implications for the scope of their work, for example that they are only allowed to help irregular migrants who have been staying in Leiden in their own network for six months, who are former residents of the AZC Leiden or people who in the past received shelter in the emergency shelter of the municipality which is closed now. Their main strategy is providing shelter. They offer room to thirty men and at a different location to eight women. Additionally, they have ten available places in their ‘perspective shelter’. “Clients in the perspective shelter are a group of people that we estimate that have good chances on obtaining a residence permit. Whether this is for asylum, on medical grounds or for a stay with their partner”. Followed by shelter, the organization has two important branches. “On the one hand there is the legal counselling, where we do file research, link people to a lawyer, explain legal procedures to the clients and help lawyers to collect evidence. On the other hand we provide social counselling which includes daytime activities like sports and Dutch language courses but it also helps clients with finding a general practitioner”. Advocacy activities are kept to a minimum. “Via via, we try to lobby for a shelter in Katwijk, because in Katwijk is a big family location and as soon a family’s youngest child has turned eighteen years, they have to leave and they often come to Leiden for shelter. But since they do

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