Dutch and German police were present at the border near Ter Apel on Sunday night as a vigilante group gathered for a second night to conduct their own border controls.

The group of approximately 50 people, equipped with torches and high visibility jackets, arrived in about 10 vehicles. Police checked their IDs, according to local broadcaster RTV Noord. Unlike the previous night, they did not stop any vehicles.

On Saturday, the group stopped cars on the N366 and, in some instances, checked their trunks, the AD reported. No arrests were made, and the protest concluded without incident, according to local media.

Jan Huzen, identified by the AD as an experienced activist with convictions for libel and incitement, organized the demonstration. He stated that he was motivated by a video depicting German police returning an asylum seeker to the Netherlands after stopping them at the border.

Huzen wrote on Facebook on Saturday, “The Dutch government won’t do anything, so I think it sensible for people to go to the border and stop German police dumping all these asylum seekers over the border,” as reported by the AD.

Westerwolde Mayor Jaap Velema told the AD on Sunday that he “understood the frustrations” regarding the unresolved refugee situation in Ter Apel, the primary reception center for new arrivals in the Netherlands. “But this is not the way to express your frustrations,” he added.

Last week, government auditors stated that increased checks at the Dutch borders were not effectively reducing the number of asylum applications.

The government implemented these additional checks last year to address irregular migration and cross-border crime, including human smuggling and document fraud. The checks were also intended to alleviate pressure on the asylum system, which is facing reception capacity limitations and housing shortages.

While the new controls resulted in more stops and refusals of entry, there were fewer arrests related to human smuggling and document fraud. The number of asylum seekers arriving at the border also decreased, but the audit office noted that this number has historically been low.

Out of the 44,000 asylum applications made in 2024, only 400 (less than 1%) were filed at the border.