Now more than ever we need a fair and humane asylum system, but instead the Government are pressing ahead with their harsh and unworkable legislation. This will deny refugees a fair hearing and will do nothing to reduce costs for the taxpayer or sort the unacceptably high backlog of asylum cases.
Many MPs, Peers, civil society organisations and public figures have already spoken out against the Bill. But we need to do more to highlight its flaws and push MPs to speak out and champion a fair system with compassion at its core.
Will you ask your MP to speak out and vote against the Bill?
As the Government's new legislation - known as the 'Illegal Migration Bill' - continues its passage through Parliament, we hope you will write to your MP to urge them to speak out and vote against the Bill. This will send a strong signal to Government that their plans are not backed by members of the public or their colleagues in Parliament.
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Dear MP,
The UK has a long and proud history of providing sanctuary to some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Most recently, we rightly welcomed Afghans fleeing the Taliban and Ukrainians forced to leave their homes following Putin’s invasion. Yet the Illegal Migration Bill currently going through Parliament risks undoing this. It will shatter the UK’s long-standing commitment under the 1951 Refugee Convention to give people a fair hearing regardless of how they arrived in the UK.
When Rishi Sunak addressed the nation upon becoming Prime Minister in October he promised to bring ‘compassion to the challenges we face.’ This Bill is in no way compassionate, nor does it deal with the challenges facing the asylum system. It will treat people seeking safety, including children, in a manner comparable to criminals and does nothing to tackle people smuggling gangs or the record high asylum backlog. Under this legislation, many thousands of people risk being detained each year at huge expense to the taxpayer and, unable to be returned to their home country or elsewhere, will be left in permanent limbo at risk of destitution and exploitation.
We know that last year almost half of all those crossing the channel came from just five countries, including Afghanistan and Iran, that all have asylum grant rates of 80% and above and who would have their asylum claim accepted and be able to contribute to British society. People fleeing persecution and war from these countries are looking to rebuild their lives in Britain. By denying them this opportunity, we are diminishing British values and standing on the world stage.
Farzad, an Iranian refugee who was granted asylum in 2019 and now lives and works in the UK, says:
"I think it doesn’t help to put people in detention and tag them, making their lives miserable and hard. We just traumatise them more and make them more vulnerable.
And I don’t think that it is acting as a deterrence, because when people are running, they are more concerned with what they are running from, not what they are running to..."
As your constituent and a supporter of Refugee Council’s campaign for a fair and humane asylum system I urge you to oppose this Bill when it returns to Parliament. I hope you will call on the Government to rethink their approach to small boat crossings and respond compassionately, ensuring our international legal obligations are fulfilled.
