In the first three months of the year, 959 people staying illegally in Belgium were sent back, State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V) said on Tuesday.
This was twice as many as in the same period last year, when 502 people were sent back, she added.
“People who are not entitled to asylum or who are staying illegally cannot stay in our country. We invest in their return, voluntarily if possible, with individual supervision,” De Moor said. "But if there is no willingness to cooperate, we carry out forced returns.”
“I am strengthening the legal framework for this with the recent migration agreement and I am working on better agreements with the countries of origin,” she disclosed.
As part of the migration agreement, the number of escorts accompanying the returns will be increased. In addition to the police, trained staff from the European border and coastguard agency, Frontex, and the Immigration Office may also be used, under the supervision of a police officer.
The development of this measure will be done in close consultation with the police and the trade unions, the Secretary of State said.
Good agreements are also needed with the countries of origin so that they readmit their nationals under flexible procedures, according to de Moor, who said she had a constructive discussion with the Moroccan ambassador to Belgium last week.
At the beginning of the year, she also had talks with the Vietnamese and Tunisian authorities.
