Rijswijk Plans Permanent Closure of Asylum Centre Despite Community Integration
Rijswijk, 24 May 2026
Just days after asylum seekers and local residents celebrated the first anniversary of Rijswijk’s reopened asylum centre with community festivities, the new municipal coalition has announced plans to permanently close the facility in May 2027. The centre on Lange Kleiweg, which previously operated from 2016-2022 before reopening in May 2025 for a two-year period, has fostered remarkable community bonds between residents and neighbours. Local alderman Gijs van Malsen recently received a painting from a Yemeni resident depicting refugees’ dangerous journeys to safety, symbolising the human stories now facing uncertainty as political priorities shift towards stricter asylum policies across Dutch municipalities.
Coalition Agreement Signals Policy Shift
The decision to close the Lange Kleiweg facility forms part of Rijswijk’s new coalition agreement, presented on 22 May 2026 following the municipal elections held in March 2026 [1]. The new municipal executive announced it will not extend the contract with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) after May 2027, marking a definitive end to asylum accommodation at this location [1]. This policy shift reflects the coalition’s stated priorities of maintaining safety, public space maintenance, and basic services, alongside what they describe as a ‘targeted social safety net for those who truly need it’ [1]. The new administration has emphasised keeping pressure ‘as low as is responsibly possible’ [1].
A Centre with Deep Community Roots
The timing of the closure announcement proves particularly poignant given the strong community integration witnessed at the centre. On 21 May 2026, just one day before the coalition’s announcement, residents and neighbours celebrated the first anniversary of the centre’s reopening with a festival featuring traditional Dutch games, activities for children, and food prepared by residents themselves [2]. The event showcased remarkable community support, with local volunteers and organisations contributing to the organisation, a local butcher donating meat, and neighbours operating a poffertje stand adjacent to the site [2]. Woonbegeleider Batuhan Saglam noted the extensive local backing, explaining that residents could collect free clothing and plants for their rooms through a stamp card system, with the plants intended to ‘bring some colour and cosiness’ to their accommodation [2].
Emergency Accommodation Challenges
The Lange Kleiweg facility operates as emergency accommodation, meaning its facilities are more basic than those found in regular asylum centres [2]. Despite these limitations, the centre has successfully fostered integration between asylum seekers and the local community. Saglam emphasised that the anniversary celebration was ‘really a day for the residents’ and that everything at the event was ‘set up together with the residents’ [2]. The centre’s history spans multiple operational periods: it initially ran from 2016 to 2022, then temporarily closed before reopening in May 2025 for a planned two-year period [2].
Political Context Across the Region
Rijswijk’s closure decision occurs amid broader regional shifts in asylum policy across South Holland municipalities. The coalition agreement reflects a trend visible in other local governments, where asylum accommodation has become a contentious issue following the March 2026 municipal elections [1]. In neighbouring Midden-Delfland, the new coalition has prioritised ‘restoring trust’ following controversy surrounding the asylum centre in Den Hoorn, which opened in March 2026 under a five-year agreement with COA [1]. That coalition explicitly stated its intention to ‘minimise the impact of the asylum centre’ and return the temporary Harnaschpolder business location to its original commercial designation as quickly as possible [1]. Meanwhile, other municipalities have taken different approaches: Leiderdorp’s coalition agreed that an asylum centre on a ‘village scale’ could be built, while Zoeterwoude’s agreement explicitly states that ‘large-scale reception locations for unaccompanied foreign minors are not appropriate’ [1].