Proposed UK migration law ‘will punish’ asylum seekers, Catholic group says
Security guards stand at the migrant processing centre in Dover, Kent, England, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Credit: Kin Cheung/AP)
LEICESTER, United Kingdom — Another leading Catholic organization has condemned the British government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill, which would ban migrants crossing the English Channel from seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
The Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) said it was “profoundly concerned” about the bill, which has drawn criticism from migration advocates and human rights organizations.
“This Bill, if passed, will not only deny those people fleeing war and persecution their right to seek safety in the UK and apply for asylum, but will punish them, based on how they came here, not whether they need protection. This would amount to an asylum ban,” CSAN said in a March 16 statement.
“The Bill would: Remove the right to seek refugee protection in the UK for those who arrive irregularly. Breach the UN Refugee Convention, of which the UK is a founding signatory. Fail to provide the safe routes we need now. Leave thousands of men, women, and children in limbo, detained, and denied a fair hearing.” the statement continued.
The organization noted that the Bill ignores Home Office data which shows that most people who cross the English Channel are people escaping torture and conflict from countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria.
“Most people who make the crossing are granted asylum following rigorous checks. There are very few safe routes for refugees to come to the UK. This Bill would be turning our back on the global common good and adding to the burden on poorer countries, which receive most refugees,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, Sarah Teather, The Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service UK, said the proposed legislation is the latest measure aiming to punish refugees for the realities of being forcibly displaced.
“Refugees travel however they can and there are vanishingly few formal routes for them. To deny sanctuary to people who need it based on their mode of arrival is grotesquely cruel and cravenly dishonest,” she said in a statement.
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The government has given no timeline for when it expects the Illegal Migration Bill to be passed by Parliament.