- A few days ago, the Neuchâtel cantonal government informed the Federal Council that it would terminate the agreement for the Boudry federal asylum center early if necessary.
- The community’s population is reaching its limits because of many difficult incidents, said Neuchâtel State Councilor Florence Natter.
- Justice Minister Beat Jans has now announced that the cantons and the federal government want to re-discuss the key parameters of asylum policy.
There has already been anger among the local population in many places about federal asylum centers: in Steckborn, in Chiasso and now again in Boudry, the town with the largest federal asylum center in French-speaking Switzerland. The accommodation in Boudry has space for 480 people.
In the last two years, over 7,000 asylum seekers have passed through the center, Neuchâtel State Councilor Florence Natter told French-speaking Switzerland radio. That is more people than the municipality of Boudry with its 6,000 inhabitants has. The population is reaching its limits due to many difficult incidents, Natter continued.
Federal Councilor Jans in discussions with the cantons
In a letter to the Federal Council a few days ago, the canton of Neuchâtel considered not extending the contract for the federal asylum center in Boudry, which is valid until 2033, or considering an early termination if there were no improvements in Boudry.
Federal Councilor Beat Jans addressed the Neuchâtel letter at the SP party conference in Geneva last weekend. “We take up the concerns,” the justice minister told SRF. But it is not always easy to offer legally compliant solutions in the short term.
Jans said he was in discussions with all cantons and they had decided that “we want to go into the future together and discuss the key parameters of asylum policy with each other again”.
Gain acceptance from people
The discontent among the population of Boudry is visible through the association “Bien vivre à Neuchâtel”. He speaks of break-ins, harassment and property damage caused by residents of the federal asylum center in Boudry.
In a petition, the association is demanding that the Boudry procedure center either become a facility for women and families or that the center be closed within six months.
Neuchâtel State Councilor Natter wants places to be eliminated in the center in Boudry. The federal government may lose administrative efficiency, says Natter, but it will gain acceptance among the people. This is not a Neuchâtel issue, it is a matter for the country.