The hostile environment has become possible after years of efforts by the Home Office to make it difficult for vulnerable people to remain in the UK. But, the Conservative Party just hit the nail.
Outrage has been voiced after the Home Office secretary, Priti Patel, announced plans that will significantly reduce the capacity of asylum-seekers to receive a positive decision to their application. Patel laid out her plans to introduce a ‘fair but firm’ system with the ultimate objective of ‘cracking down on smuggling'. She added that under the proposed laws, people that arrive in the UK through ‘illegal channels’ will no longer be entitled to the support afforded to those who arrive through ‘proper routes’.
This proposal comes right after the motion the conservative party tried to pass in order to curb protest which will see non-UK citizens deported for participation in demonstrations and other plans to send asylum seekers off-shore to have their applications processed, in the style of the Australian immigration model, or deporting foreigners for rough sleeping.
The proposed reforms’ focus remains on criminalization and is predicted to have adversarial effects. Patel claims that the move to criminalize those who utilize smuggling networks will create ‘safe legal routes’ for 'genuine' refugees. However, the Home Office secretary blatantly ignores the fact that smuggling networks exist because of the absence of legal routes in the first place. Crucially, Patel hasn’t disclosed with the public any information on how the legal route avenue will become accessible for those who need it.
Additionally, the plans to overhaul the asylum system are not adhering to international laws which the UK is a party to. A spokesperson for the UN refugee agency confirmed that, as per the 1951 Refugee Convention, every asylum seeker is entitled to having their application processed in a fair manner, regardless of the means they employed in order to reach a country.
Furthermore, Patel added that refugees need to seek asylum in the countries they first enter Europe. However, years of adherence to these rules as predicted by the EU-ratified Dublin regulations have resulted in the EU entry points running beyond capacity, as we have observed in the Greek islands.
The UK Conservative Party has divested social services and has sought to remove the issue of migration & asylum from the realm of community development to the realm of securitization. After a series of actions that amount to a systematic attempt by the establishment to breach the human rights of refugees, asylum-seekers & migrants, it has become evident that we need to constantly monitor current developments and for civil society to be on the alert.
However, there is plenty of room to demand change. Following the nationwide anti-bill protest the government agreed to temporarily backtrack on its plans. Meaning that by voicing our disagreement with current policies, it is feasible to organize and demand justice. As mentioned in the previous article on the Families Together Campaign ‘one area can have an effect on others as well’, therefore, it is important to coordinate action and keep pushing for recognition of refugee and asylum seeker rights. We can start by writing a letter to our MPs or directly to the Home Office, sign the Choose Love petition or join campaigns against the proposals.
Above all, we need to remember that we have a responsibility to impose checks on our government when it moves to disenfranchise those who are vulnerable and do not have the means of protest. Pushing against these arbitrary actions is undoubtedly possible if collective action is undertaken.
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