Liberal Netherlands grows less so on immigration

Recent surveys show that 62 percent of Rotterdam residents support limiting immigration. The city's non-European population has risen over the past decade, in part because of the arrival of spouses from the old country - and robust birth rates. A recent government study in Rotterdam showed that the average birth rate for Moroccan women is nearly four times that of the Dutch rate of just over one child.

The Netherlands has no quota system for accepting immigrants. The cost of sending a new arrival through the required "integration program," which includes job training and Dutch lessons, can reach almost $7,500 per person.

It's no coincidence that a blunter policy toward immigrants originated in Rotterdam. The dominant Livable Rotterdam party rode to power in local elections in March 2002 on the popularity of Pim Fortuyn, a leader who promoted the slogan "Holland is full." He was murdered by an animal rights activist two months later, on the eve of general elections that he was expected to win by a landslide. But the debate he sparked about immigration continues to influence political life in Holland.

"There are too many people coming here who don't want to work. Before long there will be more foreigners than Dutch people, and Dutch people won't be the boss of their own country," says Léon, a white Rotterdam window cleaner who wants to be identified only by his first name. "That's why this has to be stopped."

The feeling among many ethnic minorities is that the policy is not about economics, but race. "There are a lot of people who feel that there are a lot of people of color on the street - and that is disturbing," says Suzanne, a Rotterdam resident of Indonesian descent who prefers to be quoted by first name. "But, that's the way the world is now, and there is no changing that."

Sorenson says the new policy is "pragmatic," not racist, and is aimed at reversing urban blight. Part of the council's plan is to shift from building affordable housing to upscale housing, to attract wealthier families and their tax contributions.

Previous Dutch policy has focused on educating migrants - most were "guest workers" from Turkey or Morocco - rather than penalizing them. In the 1990s, the Dutch government created programs to integrate the initially temporary immigrants, but they were underfunded and voluntary. In 1998, Holland passed a tougher plan, requiring immigrants to attend Dutch-language classes and receive job training. But 20 percent dropped out, most did not learn basic Dutch, and there was no follow-up for vocational opportunities, says a report from the Migration Policy Group.

Some immigrant-rights groups warn that Rotterdam's policy signals a growing polarization in Holland. "[The city] shouldn't have made immigrants the scapegoat. There was way too much us and them in this plan," says project leader Anil Ciftci of the Rotterdam group Delmatur.

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