Since their election in July 2024, this Government has all too often failed refugees and people seeking asylum. Consecutive Home Secretaries have introduced policies that attack refugee rights – from curtailing access to citizenship and pausing refugee family reunion, to scrapping permanent refugee status. Time and again displaced people have cruelly been used as a political football.
We are now worried that today’s King’s Speech leads us further down an unwelcoming, hostile path: one where deterrence is prioritised over protection. The new Immigration Bill announced puts into motion the Government’s Earned Settlement Model, which will see refugees wait years for access to settlement. We are also concerned about the reinterpretation of human rights law – weakening protection from torture and the right to family life.
HIAS+JCORE believes that Britain is at its best when we show welcome and lead with compassion. That is what our community once needed; it is what refugees today deserve too. So, as we move forward into another parliamentary term, we urge the Government to take responsible actions that promote dignity, respect, partnership and solidarity.
