Brussels mental health groups urge withdrawal of home-search bill for undocumented migrants

The Brussels League for Mental Health (Brusselse Liga voor Geestelijke Gezondheid) has called for the withdrawal of a bill on home searches. The umbrella group of about fifty organisations active in mental health care made the call in an open letter published on Tuesday 27 October 2026, according to BRUZZ. The federal parliament is due to vote on the bill on 5 November 2026.

The bill would allow the Immigration Office (Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken) to ask an investigating judge for permission to enter a private home together with police. The aim is to arrest undocumented migrants (sans-papiers) who have an expulsion order and refuse to comply, where they pose a threat to national security or public order.

Children and mental health professionals

The bill has been amended several times, including on the presence of children during such operations. Under the amended provisions, the investigating judge may order "multidisciplinary support" when children are present. According to the League, this means a mental health professional takes part in the home visit or intervenes afterwards to prevent trauma in children.

The signatories call these provisions "unacceptable". They say the provisions conflict with the link between mental health, emotional bonds and housing, distort the professionals' tasks, and breach ethical and professional-conduct principles.

The League argues that a child's mental health depends mainly on attachment to the people around them. It warns that police entering a family home to remove a relative undermines children's trust in their family's stability and may have long-term effects on the children concerned.

The League also questions whether a mental health professional can still work properly and serve the child if they take part in a procedure that causes the child trauma. It warns that such involvement could discredit the whole care system and break trust between the child, the family and care providers.

The League says that drawing mental health professions away from their core principles of care, universality and respect for privacy would make them complicit in measures it considers discriminatory and dangerous for democracy. Its conclusion is a flat rejection of the bill.