(THE HAGUE) — A Dutch Protestant church ended a months-long, round-the-clock service Wednesday that started in October to protect a family of Armenian asylum-seekers from deportation after the government announced changes to its immigration policy.
The Bethel Church, a small chapel in a Hague residential neighborhood, announced the end of the 24-7 service a day after the Dutch ruling coalition announced it will review hundreds of asylum applications by children that previously were rejected.
“We are incredibly grateful for a safe future in the Netherlands for hundreds of refugee families,” church official Theo Hettema said in a statement.
The church service began Oct. 26 to protect the Tamrazyan family — including the parents, their two daughters and a son. Dutch law prohibits authorities from entering a church building while a service is underway.
At a news conference late Tuesday, the government minister in charge of immigration issues, Mark Harbers, said authorities will again r..