Groningen Steps In as the Netherlands Struggles to House Asylum Seekers Turned Away Nightly
Groningen, 26 May 2026
With 120 asylum seekers left without shelter each night, Groningen is the only Dutch city to have raised its hand, raising urgent questions about national responsibility.
A City Steps Up — Again
For the fourth consecutive night, the city of Groningen has opened its doors to asylum seekers who cannot be accommodated at the Ter Apel registration centre. On Tuesday evening, 26 May 2026, approximately 120 asylum seekers were waiting on the grass outside the Ter Apel facility, uncertain of where they would spend the night — with a large proportion expected to be transferred to Groningen [1]. The emergency shelter is being provided at Hanze Plaza, a conference centre in the city, where the Red Cross has set up temporary sleeping arrangements [1][3]. This is not an isolated incident but the latest chapter in a deepening crisis, one that this outlet previously reported on when Ter Apel was operating at 116% capacity — housing 2,316 people in a facility designed for 2,000 — and single men were being turned away to sleep outdoors. That background is available in full here.
How the Nightly Operation Works
The logistical pattern that has emerged over recent nights is both telling and troubling. On Sunday evening, 24 May 2026, approximately 120 asylum seekers were transported from Ter Apel to Hanze Plaza in Groningen, where 175 beds had been prepared by the Red Cross [2][3]. The night before — Saturday into Sunday — 105 people had already slept in the same conference centre [2]. Each morning, those who have been sheltered overnight are returned to Ter Apel, where they spend their days attempting to pass the time — playing chess, sitting in the shade of roughly ten tents erected on the grounds, while aid workers continuously distribute ice cream and chilled water to cope with the heat [1]. On the night of Monday into Tuesday, approximately ten individuals chose to remain in Ter Apel rather than make the journey to Groningen, despite beds being available. As the Red Cross noted, the reasoning was blunt: ‘I’m done with it, I’ve slept five nights on a hard camp bed.’ Aid workers responded by providing sleeping bags and mats to make conditions marginally more bearable [1].
Groningen Willing to Extend — But Only Under Conditions
The municipality of Groningen has indicated it is prepared to extend the emergency night shelter by approximately one week, but has attached a clear condition: a longer-term solution must be found [1]. The city has cited the Ministry of Asylum and Migration as currently exploring structural alternatives, with possibilities including reception in another municipality or on one of the Defence Ministry’s sites [1]. Groningen acknowledges that preparation time is needed for any such transition, which is precisely why the city has offered to bridge the gap. The shelter at Hanze Plaza is being reopened on Tuesday evening at the explicit request of the Ministry, with the Red Cross again responsible for managing the facility [1].
No Other Municipality Has Raised Its Hand
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this crisis is not what Groningen is doing, but what the rest of the Netherlands is not. As of Sunday, 24 May 2026, no other municipality had come forward to offer emergency shelter [2]. The COA confirmed to NU.nl that it was ‘extremely pleased’ with the efforts of the Red Cross and VluchtelingenWerk in Ter Apel, but that no additional local authorities had stepped in [2]. Groningen’s asylum councillor, Manouska Molema, did not mince her words on Tuesday: ‘It is inhumane to let people fleeing persecution sleep outside, and it is shocking that no other municipality has raised its hand to provide sufficient overnight shelter,’ she said, adding that Groningen would ‘once again take its responsibility’ while urging the national government to deliver a structural solution as quickly as possible [1]. The Red Cross, for its part, described the mood among those waiting as calm, but warned that the asylum seekers are ‘physically and mentally exhausted’ from being moved to a different location every single evening [1]. The organisation cautioned that, given the fatigue and uncertainty, it was impossible to say how long that composure would hold [1].
A Structural Problem With No Structural Answer — Yet
The scenes in Ter Apel and Groningen are a direct consequence of what remains an unresolved structural shortage of reception places across the Netherlands [GPT]. Ter Apel functions as the sole official registration point for newly arrived asylum seekers in the country [GPT], meaning that all arrivals must pass through this single facility regardless of its capacity. When that capacity is exceeded, the consequences are immediate and human: families, vulnerable individuals, and exhausted travellers are left without a guaranteed roof. As of Tuesday evening, 26 May 2026, the Ministry of Asylum and Migration had not yet announced a concrete long-term solution, leaving Groningen — and the Red Cross — to manage the situation one night at a time [1]. Whether the proposed one-week extension of Hanze Plaza’s use will prove sufficient, or whether a Defence site or alternative municipality will be identified in time, remains [alert! ‘no confirmed timeline or location has been announced by the Ministry as of the publication of this article’] to be seen.