Fed Up with Migrant Chaos, Dutch Citizens Set Up DIY Border Checks

ER Editor: The Dutch village of Ter Apel lies on the northern end of the border with Germany, and has been a small community particularly affected by legal and illegal migrants. This is not their first rodeo. See this from August 2023 —

Dutch citizens organize patrols with app tracking and arrest migrants (Video)

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Now some citizens there under the direction of activist Jan Huzen are staging their own impromptu border checks, with Geert Wilders cheerfully capitalizing on the moment.

Dutch outlet RTL has this (browsers will translate), which contains a video in Dutch but which gives readers a visual look at the migrant problem in Ter Apel —

Citizens hold their own ‘border control’ at Ter Apel, Van Weel calls for a stop

From Berlin Times —

Action against asylum seekers: Dutch now control themselves at the German border

This from Volkskrant, linked to below —

According to RTV North the group ‘concerned citizens’ took action when the German police returned a migrant trying to reach Germany via the Netherlands. Germany has recently carried out stricter border controls and returns asylum seekers if they do not have the correct papers.

Ter Apel, part of the municipality of Westerwolde, has experienced nuisance for years. The only national registration center is located in the Groningen village. Sometimes the applications cannot handle that.

Dangerous situations

Because other municipalities in the Netherlands refuse to take over asylum seekers, the village is burdened by the arrival of new groups of asylum seekers. Residents regularly complain about nuisance, intimidation and crime. Some asylum seekers are guilty of this.

…

In the night from Sunday to Monday, civilians were on their feet again. Checks were not carried out due to the presence of Dutch and German police. The Dutch police carried out identity checks. As far as is known, no arrests have been made.

Wilders supports controls

Citizens who have taken matters into their own hands can count on the support of PVV leader Geert Wilders, who spoke via X of a ‘ fantastic initiative ’. He promised to help residents stop vehicles next time.

Dutch News also has this in English —

Police stop second night of Dutch vigilante border checks

Thanks to colleague Michel van der Kemp for resourcing information.

Geert Wilders praised this as a “fantastic initiative,” saying it is necessary because establishment parties have “completely failed” voters.

MICHAEL CURZON for EUROPEAN CONSERVATIVE

European voters are increasingly frustrated at establishment parties ignoring their demands for tougher migration controls.

In the Netherlands over the weekend, a group of citizens gathered near the border with Germany near Ter Apel to stop cars and conduct asylum seeker checks themselves.

Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) president Geert Wilders.  Photo: François Walschaerts / AFP

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They decided to take action after ‘centre-right’ coalition parties blocked asylum reforms, prompting Geert Wilders to take his right-wing populist Freedom Party (PVV/PfE) out of the government.

Reports vary on how many citizens took part in the action, ranging from 12-30. Dutch daily De Volkskrant highlighted crucially that Ter Apel residents “regularly complain about nuisance, intimidation and crime that some asylum seekers [who enter the area via Germany] are guilty of.”

Justice Minister David van Weel said their frustration was “understandable,” but stressed:

Do not take the law into your own hands. Let the police and military police do their job. Obey the law.

Wilders responded, however, that the government is doing “absolutely nothing,” dismissing van Weel as a “weakling” and accusing his VVD coalition force of “completely failing” voters.

Translation:  Weakling. You are doing absolutely nothing. You could have had the army guard the borders by now and sent all asylum seekers away under Article 72 TFEU, just like the Germans do. If people are frustrated, it is because the VVD is completely failing them.

Slappeling. Je doet helemaal niks. Je had het leger nu al de grenzen kunnen laten bewaken en alle asielzoekers weg kunnen sturen op grond van artikel 72 VWEU, net als de Duitsers doen.

Als mensen gefrustreerd zijn dat is het omdat de VVD het totaal laat afweten. #StemPVV #PVV https://t.co/gf621byI1o

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) June 8, 2025

Wilders also hailed the checks as a “fantastic initiative,” saying, “This should happen everywhere along the border.” His sights are now set on the Dutch premiership, with snap elections now set for October 29th.

Police officials were highly critical of the stops, saying they “create extremely dangerous situations on and along the road.” But one of the men involved in the action is reported as saying that

Nothing is happening. So we’ll just do it ourselves.

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