The highest Dutch court ruled on Monday that Algerian nationals whose asylum requests have been rejected can once again be detained pending their deportation.

Previously, the Council of State had barred the detention of Algerians, citing the lack of a realistic prospect of deportation. However, with Algerian authorities now issuing temporary travel documents, facilitating timely deportations is now feasible.

As a result, the justice minister is authorized to place Algerians in secure detention facilities while awaiting deportation. Junior justice minister Eric van der Burg hailed the decision as a significant advancement.

The Netherlands has grappled with the challenge of handling individuals, often young men, from safe third countries like Algeria and Morocco, who seek asylum despite slim chances of approval.

Algeria was delisted as a safe third country in 2021 due to concerns over human rights violations. Despite this, immigration service data indicates that no Algerian nationals were granted refugee status last year.

According to justice ministry records, the Netherlands requested travel documents for 141 Algerian nationals last year for deportation purposes. Additionally, broadcaster NOS reported that four individuals have already been deported. Photo by Bas Kijzers / Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, Wikimedia commons.