A few hundred migrants have surrounded Maximilien Park in front of the Immigration Office in the north of Brussels. These persons, who are mainly from East Africa, are in transit and have not previously applied for asylum in Belgium. Two years ago, Maximilien Park was used as a reception area for hundreds of migrants.
"For several weeks now, we have witnessed the presence of a hundred or so migrants in Maximilien Park, some of whom sleep in the park at night but most of whom sleep in the North Station, and the police regularly check the park for fear of a recurrence of a situation similar to that of two years ago", said Foreign Office spokeswoman, Dominique Ernould.
By 2015, hundreds of candidates for asylum had to sleep in Maximilien Park, due to failure by the Immigration Office to register their applications, and the situation created a controversy concerning failure to receive migrants.
The Brussels Times
