UK Immigration Fatigue – What comes next?

Stek Oost: A Catastrophic Failure – Time for Deportation and Detention, Not Forced Coexistence

Public support in the UK for Ukrainian refugees, which surged warmly in 2022 when schemes like Homes for Ukraine drew widespread participation and sympathy, has shown signs of gradual softening by 2025–2026 as the war's duration stretches on and immediate crisis imagery fades from daily view. 

While initial attitudes were markedly more positive toward Ukrainians compared to other refugee groups—reflecting factors like shared European identity, and many arrivals being women and children—recent analyses are indicating a declining enthusiasm, with some research noting reduced public backing amid broader immigration fatigue, economic pressures, and concerns over long-term welfare or integration costs. 

Roughly 250,000 Ukrainians are in the UK—many expressing a desire to stay long-term and will continue to benefit from extensions like the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. Although the absence of a clear path to permanent settlement reflects cautious government policy aligned with hopes for eventual returns home. Overall, the once near-universal welcome has tempered into a more nuanced acceptance, influenced by time, domestic priorities, and the realities of sustained hosting rather than outright rejection. But what next? Was ‘Homes for Ukraine’ just the warm up act for what may be planned next? 

Currently in the United Kingdom, illegal immigrants are being placed in hotels, houses of multiple occupation, hostels and empty army camps. Some are even being placed into luxury homes in affluent residential areas around the country. As many more arrive daily, where will they all be accommodated? Perhaps the UK will be looking overseas for a solution? Maybe co-existence is the next step. Let’s see how that is working out in Amsterdam.  

The Stek Oost housing experiment in Amsterdam stands as one of the most glaring examples of how dangerously misguided progressive migration policies can become when they prioritize ideology over basic public safety.

But it comes with stark and draconian conditions as stated on their website;

“Each resident also commits 1 hour a week to the community. In doing so, the residents are guided by ‘facilitators’ who come from the Academie voor de Stad”.

Launched in 2018 as a bold attempt to address both youth housing shortages and refugee integration, the project forced 125 young Dutch students and workers to live side-by-side with 125 mostly male status holders (refugees granted residence) from countries including Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, and Iran. The "buddy system" encouraged personal pairings for cultural exchange, while shared spaces and mandatory community hours were supposed to build harmony. 

Instead, it became a breeding ground for repeated sexual assaults, rapes, stalking, knife threats, physical violence, fights in hallways, drug issues, and an atmosphere of constant fear. 

A recent Zembla documentary and widespread 2026 media coverage—including reports from the Daily Mail, GB News, The Sun, OpIndia, and others—have exposed at least 20 police reports of sexual violence and assaults in the past 18 months alone, with incidents dating back years. One Syrian resident was convicted of rape after multiple prior allegations, yet eviction proved nearly impossible under Dutch tenant protections and municipal reluctance. Complaints from terrified students were routinely downplayed or delayed, leaving vulnerable young women living in fear. 

As of January 2026, the nightmare continues. Despite housing corporation Stadgenoot pushing for early closure as far back as 2023, Amsterdam authorities have refused, citing a lack of alternative housing for the status holders. 

The complex limps on until its contract expires in April 2028, with a token adjustment to a 70-30 Dutch-to-refugee ratio doing little to restore safety. Staff and residents describe exhaustion, intimidation, and a climate where shared areas feel threatening rather than communal. Smaller similar projects fare better with stricter management and higher Dutch proportions, but large-scale forced mixing like Stek Oost has proven disastrous.

This isn't mere "failure of integration"—it's a direct consequence of reckless policy that ignored obvious risks: unvetted backgrounds, cultural clashes, trauma without adequate support, and zero tolerance for criminal behaviour. The experiment assumed proximity alone would foster respect and assimilation. It did the opposite, endangering locals while failing many migrants who needed structured help, not chaotic cohabitation.

For the UK, where similar debates rage over asylum accommodation in hotels, student blocks, or community dispersal, Stek Oost is a screaming red flag. Any push toward "adopting" migrants—whether through mandatory buddy schemes, mixed housing, or vague calls for citizens to shoulder integration burdens—risks replicating this horror. Reports already warn that Britain could face the same if unchecked inflows continue without safeguards.

The humane and effective response isn't more experimentation or tolerance of crime in the name of compassion. It's swift deportation for those who commit serious offenses, rigorous detention and vetting for new arrivals, accelerated removal of failed asylum claimants, and prioritized housing for citizens who pay into the system. Criminal acts—especially sexual violence—must trigger immediate loss of status and expulsion, not prolonged legal battles that keep perpetrators in place.

Stek Oost proves that good intentions (good intentions pave the way to hell), when detached from reality and enforcement, produce victims on all sides. 

Is the nightmare about to hit our shores? Will our youngsters be bullied into sharing their lives with strangers. Many who have illegally entered the country and of who they know nothing about? 

The UK must reject soft-touch policies that endanger its people. Deport criminals, detain risks, protect borders—and learn from Amsterdam's ongoing catastrophe before similar headlines hit British streets. Anything less invites disaster. Who will your youngsters be sharing their lives with, or perhaps it will be YOUR home which is offered to a stranger from another country. Let that sink in. 

Or perhaps a disaster is exactly what the UK Government have planned and engineered for us already.