“I couldn’t stand the way prisoners were treated on the Bibby Stockholm. The staff become like that, because the whole culture there is like that. Inhuman. They do not see the residents as people with a history, but as numbers.”

Security Guard,
Bibby Stockholm,
Netherlands,
2007.

#BibbyStockholm
#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

They're still voting but so far the U.K. House of Commons have to reject every single one of the House of Lords ammendments to the Illegal Migration Bill.
The House of Lords ammendments were taking out the very worst parts of a terrible bill that is unworkable, probably unlawful, and severely impinges on the human rights of asylum seekers coming to the U.K.

The House of Commons is just putting them all back in again. They are cartoon fascists.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

In U.K. Parliament, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick seems to have just said the quiet bit out loud.

He said that speeding up asylum processing claims would encourage more asylum seekers to come to the U.K.

Perhaps this is why the U.K. has such a massive backlog of asylum claims, and although Rishi Sunak has promised to clear the backlog it is actually increasing.

They want this.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome

“The blatant refusal to provide the level of sanctuary and safety for Sudanese refugees in comparison to white Ukrainians has firmly exposed the unashamedly racist thinking at the heart of immigration legislation. They have created a segregated refugee system."

“It is clear that any shred of compassion for black and brown refugees has well and truly disappeared.”

Fizza Qureshi,
Chief Executive,
Migrant Rights Network,
U.K.

#Sudan
#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/07/home-office-accused-of-being-unashamedly-racist-towards-sudanese

More than 190,000 people – most of them refugees fleeing from some of the world’s most dangerous and repressive countries – could be locked up or forced into destitution under the Government’s new crackdown on desperate people seeking safety and sanctuary.

That is the finding from a new and detailed impact assessment of the consequences of the first three years of implementation of the Illegal Migration Bill, carried out by the Refugee Council.

#UKAsylumPolicy

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/news/nearly-200000-people-could-be-locked-up-or-forced-into-destitution-new-report-on-asylum-bill-reveals/?s=09

Here it is. A plan to introduce safe routes for asylum seekers to the U.K. It's a well thought out and clear, detailed plan about how Rishi Sunak can stop getting lost in fantasy and come up with a real world solution to his migrant small boat problems. It's all been handed to him, an oven-ready deal if you like, by independent think-tank British Futures. All he needs to do is implement it. What is he waiting for?

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

https://www.britishfuture.org/control-and-compassion-report/?s=09#.Y_HS_mKmZL8.twitter

“Whatever the outcome in the courts, the Rwanda scheme is wrong in principle and unworkable in practice. To stop dangerous Channel crossings, we will need a safe route to allow people who need protection to come to Britain safely. So it is very welcome to see this fresh thinking about how a well-managed and humane alternative could work”. 

Stephen Timms,
Labour MP,
U.K.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

"The need for reforming our asylum system has never been greater. I agree that the challenge we face is not unfixable, and both control and compassion must be at the heart of our immigration strategy.”

Samuel Kasumu,
Former Adviser to Boris Johnson,
U.K.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

“We cannot carry on with an asylum system that forces people to risk their lives seeking safety. There needs to be a safe way for people to get to the UK.”

Ed Davey,
Liberal Democrat MP
U.K.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

"To stop dangerous Channel crossings, we will need a safe route to allow people who need protection to come to Britain safely.”

Stephen Timms,
Labour MP,
U.K.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman threatening to detain and deport everyone who crosses the Channel is just one more impossible promise they won’t keep.Politicians keep chasing headlines and seeking scapegoats but have failed to come up with a proper plan for an orderly, workable and humane system. What we need are real-world policies that can actually happen and will make a difference.”

Sunder Katwala,
British Futures.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/18/humanitarian-visa-could-cut-number-of-asylum-seekers-reaching-uk-by-boat?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&s=09

"Not having documents makes you vulnerable and makes it difficult to stand up for yourself. Intimidating asylum seekers is an act of pure cowardice. We need a government that shows leadership and protects the vulnerable rather than empowering bullies by using damaging and divisive rhetoric.”

Clare Moseley,
Care4Calais.

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

"As tensions mount in the U.K., Hope Not Hate, the organisation that monitors far-right activity, has flagged five anti-migrant demonstrations happening over this weekend – including one in Rotherham promoted by Britain First and Patriotic Alternative."

#RefugeesWelcomeHere
#SafeRoutes
#UKAsylumPolicy

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/17/asylum-seekers-living-in-fear-far-right-uk-anti-migrant-protests-planned?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"In 2022 the UK issued 208,304 visas to Ukrainians and 144,576 to people from Hong Kong. There is no reason we can’t do the same for just 45,756 from everywhere else in the world, particularly when we have 1.3 million job vacancies that we are unable to fill."

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

"In 2022 the UK issued 208,304 visas to Ukrainians and 144,576 to people from Hong Kong. There is no reason we can’t do the same for just 45,756 from everywhere else in the world, particularly when we have 1.3 million job vacancies that we are unable to fill."

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

"People who are brave and resilient enough to have escaped from the worst terrors in this world should not be risking their lives once again to claim asylum in the UK. We know it’s possible to give people safe passage – we do it for Ukrainians – so why not do it for other refugees?

By issuing travel visas, we could bring refugees to the UK safely to claim asylum – putting people smugglers out of a job.

So why won’t the Government act?"

#UKAsylumPolicy
#SafeRoutes

https://care4calais.org/news/answer-to-small-boats/?s=09

"A xenophobic backlash is always a risk when immigration becomes a fought-over political issue. Britain is not alone in that: in recent months Ireland has seen its far-right scene, sensing an opportunity in tough economic times to stir up resentment of asylum seekers. But while politicians are rightly criticised when they pick up far-right talking points, there is another, underlying source of trouble here - the asylum system itself."

Daniel Trilling

#UKAsylumPolicy

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/16/asylum-seekers-attacked-uk-violence-knowsley-refugees

"Having already experienced great hardship, these men, women and children who come here for protection are now faced with violence, fuelled by inflammatory language of ‘invasion’ and policies that demonise them."

"The responsibility to create a system that is fair and compassionate, and brings cohesion instead of division, lies with our decision-makers.”

#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/14/leaders-urged-to-take-a-stand-after-violence-outside-knowsley-asylum-hotel

"Eight former BBC journalists who had their applications to relocate from Afghanistan to the UK rejected are expecting their cases to be reconsidered after they successfully challenged the rationale behind the refusals at the high court.
At a hearing in December, they advanced five grounds on which they challenged decisions by the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, and the home secretary, Suella Braverman, to deny them UK visas."

#UKAsylumPolicy
#Afghanistan
#SafeRoutes

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/13/court-allows-review-of-uk-visa-rejections-for-ex-bbc-journalists-in-afghanistan

Manchester, U.K. is a welcoming and diverse city with a long history of immigration. Of course refugees are welcome here. It doesn't need saying. But sometimes it does need plastering all over Debenhams window.

#RefugeesWelcomeHere
#UKAsylumPolicy
#SafeRoutes
#Manchester