Protesters Respond to the Government’s Treatment of Migrants

In response to the Belgian government’s plan to conduct raids and arrests on migrants in Brussels, over 2,000 Belgians protested in the capital and found overnight residences for hundreds of homeless migrants with the aid of volunteer programs. The protest is part of a larger pattern of discontent with Belgium’s immigration policy, specifically with regard to its handling of the deportation of Sudanese migrants. Opponents of the government’s plan have singled out Junior Minister Theo Francken of the New Flemish Alliance party (N-VA) for his role in the deportations amidst widespread reports of human rights violations.