The 12-second clip was found to have been filmed at an asylum seekers' shelter in Budel in the Noord-Brabant province, which is located in the south of the country just a few kilometers north of the Belgian border.

The video, which was shared on the Dutch video-sharing site Dumpert on Monday (February 2), shows a guard at the shelter pointing at his own shoes while ordering a young asylum seeker to kiss his shoes, saying in Dutch: "On your knees, on your knees, kiss!"

After that, the guard comments: "Good boy," likening the asylum seeker to a pet.

Two other officials are seen as bearing witness to the degrading act, with another presumably filming the video, as can be ascertained from the shaky quality of the vertical clip.

Asylum agency acknowledges 'inappropriate action'

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) in the Netherlands commented that the video was found to be real. InfoMigrants also confirmed that it showed no signs of being AI-generated or manipulated. 

The COA noted that the clip dates back to mid-2023. "We know about the video. It's two and a half years old," a spokesperson of the COA told the regional Omroep Brabant newspaper. 

"We investigated it internally at the time and took action. We believe it's important that people treat each other respectfully, and that goes both ways. Inappropriate behavior is subject to action," they added, while expressing "regret" over the event.

The COA spokesperson stressed that the guard — who had been employed to work at the asylum center by the security agency Trigion — was no longer employed by the COA nor by Trigion; it is not clear, however, whether he was discharged in direct response to the surfacing of the video.

It is also not known whether the other guards who witnessed the scene had to face any disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, Dutch public broadcaster NOS received a statement from Trigion, saying the company "strongly condemn[s] this type of behavior," and that it takes "these kinds of situations very seriously."

Trigion added that it had beefed up its screening protocols to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

Trigion did not want to comment on whether the other men involved in the video still worked for Trigion, citing privacy concerns.

Refugee rights' groups express 'shock'

Refugee organizations in the Netherlands meanwhile have come out in protests against the ill-treatment of the asylum seeker portrayed in the clip.

The Dutch Council for Refugees, established as a charity in 1979, commented that it was "shocked" by the incident.

"We condemn this behaviour unconditionally," the group said in an official statement.

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Viewers say they are reminded of ICE

Meanwhile, the video has garnered around 50,000 views and hundreds of comments, with one viewer highlighting that they found the clip to be an example of "utmost humiliation" and another likening the acts of the guard to the Gestapo — the secret police of Nazi Germany, which was widely known for its brutal methods.

Another viewer likened the actions taken by the guard to those of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in the United States, which have made headlines repeatedly in recent weeks for their aggressive enforcement of deportations throughout the US, resulting in several deaths not only among people found to be residing in the country without legal status but also among protestors trying to stop ICE agents during raids.

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Other users of the video platform Dumpert questioned the context of the video, with one implying that it might merely reflect a "lost bet" or another suggesting that there might even have been an element of homophobia involved, as the clip could be interpreted that way.

It is not clear whether the asylum seeker pictured in the clip is a member of the LGBT community or not, and to what extent he might have been under duress, though it appears to not be a voluntary act.

A spokeswoman for the gay refugee organization LGBT Asylum Support told DutchNews that over the years, the organization had received multiple complaints "from people who felt they were poorly treated by security staff" on account of their sexuality.

Sandro Kortekaas, another member of the organisation LGBT Asylum Support, specified that the number of such complaints that the group had received in 2025 alone had surpassed 900, adding that these residents of asylum shelters had expressed feeling "unsafe" due to the treatment they received at the hands of officials in charge of running these facilities.

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