Jesuit Refugee Service calls on new government to create a “just and humane” asylum system
Jesuit Refugee Service UK has long been calling for an overhaul of the British asylum system, including the overturning of the illegal “Migration Act” and an end to the forcible transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
In a letter sent to the new Home Secretary, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, the Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service UK, Sarah Teather, outlines three urgent priorities which will help the newly-elected Labour government build “an asylum system that is just, humane, and reflects our values as a society.” These are:
1). Restore the right to asylum by repealing the illegal “Migration Act” and “Nationality and Borders Act”.
2). End immigration detention, which includes the incarceration of thousands of people in prison-like conditions without time limit.
3). End the “Hostile Environment” which intentionally marginalises people with precarious immigration status.
“Policies of the last government, including the Illegal Migration Act and the plan to forcibly transfer people seeking asylum to Rwanda, abandoned the very principle of asylum itself,” said Sarah.
“You have a unique opportunity to improve how we welcome people seeking sanctuary in the UK. Please don’t squander this chance by pandering to voices of division and hostility shouting from the sidelines.
“With such a large majority, your party has been handed power on a significant scale. We urge you to deliver a more humane system and help create a society rooted in justice and care for one another.”
You can read the letter in full by clicking HERE. You can find out more about the work of Jesuit Refugee Service UK by clicking here.
