Thousands of decisions by the Home Office to refuse asylum seekers and migrants permission to remain in the UK have been withdrawn before a series of appeals. Critics say the Home Office’s actions have left the immigration status of some claimants unclear, contributing to a backlog of cases that have yet to be decided. Labour MP Paul Blomfield said “There are victims at the centre of it all who have bona fide applications and are being left in legal limbo.” Statistics show that half of all asylum appeals are successful.
However, Home Office officials have been set targets of turning down 70% of asylum appeals, and have been offered gift vouchers, cash bonuses and extra holiday if they hit them.
“The home secretary should be ensuring that the right decisions are made first time, so appeals aren’t needed, rather than costing the taxpayer money and keeping people’s lives in limbo just so her department can hit targets,” said David Hanson, the shadow minister for immigration.
An asylum seeker is someone who is fleeing persecution in their homeland, has arrived in another country, made themselves known to the authorities and exercised the legal right to apply for asylum. A refugee is someone whose asylum application is successful and is allowed to stay in the host country. A refused asylum seeker is someone who has had their application turned down and is awaiting return to their home country. It may be unsafe to return and therefore be some time before they can. Some of the top countries where asylum seekers come from have a well-known record of human rights abuses and ongoing conflicts eg. Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. The UK signed the 1951 Convention on Refugees, which states that anyone has the right to apply for asylum in Britain and remain until a final decision on their application has been made.
Britain takes less than 3% of the world's asylum seekers. Asylum seekers receive 30% less than people on income support and 35% of them actually have degrees or professional qualifications. This information is readily available and could be accessed in few minutes on a web search engine but many are permitted to peddle propaganda without challenge or correction.
Yes it has to be acknowledged that the character of many parts of the UK has changed but this is nothing new. The cultural and social landscape of the UK has constantly changed over the centuries. Much of East and North London changed courtesy of Jewish immigration at the turn of the 20th century. Why is that okay but not so regarding newer arrivals to our shores?
The UK is not the soft-touch for asylum seekers that politicians try to make out. The UK immigration system is extremely tough - there have been several recent pieces of legislation both in the UK and the EU that have made this tougher. For example: fines on airlines and other carriers for bringing in people without permission to enter; visa restrictions on refugee-producing countries and posting immigration officers overseas to prevent refugees from boarding planes to travel to the UK.
Once in the UK, it is very difficult for people to show that they have a genuine fear of persecution should they return to their country of origin since many have fled conflict or torture. Increasing restrictions on legal aid have also made it much more difficult for asylum seekers fleeing persecution to obtain quality legal advice and representation in order to get a full and fair hearing of their case. Many asylum seekers who are initially refused refugee status go on to win their appeals, reflecting the poor quality of initial decision making at the Home Office.
Most refugees in the world have no choice in their destination and end up fleeing to neighbouring countries (which are often equally poverty stricken). Two thirds of the world's refugees live in developing countries, often in refugee camps. But the UK is popular destination for some due to many family/friend connections and the world-wide adoption of the use of English as a second language.
According to Every Child Matters (ECM), the rights of the child must be upheld above and beyond any question of immigration status. However, frequently, asylum seeking children are discriminated against and not treated as children first and foremost. In 2008, the UK government lifted the reservation on the article relating to immigration in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This came as a welcome change - guaranteeing that children seeking asylum will be entitled to the same protection and access to services as other children and benefit from the "best interest" rule, under article three of the convention, in the same way as British children. Nevertheless, the UK government have consistently shown their true colours on this issue, directly contravening the ECM and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by holding children in detention. In 2010, the new government recently made a very welcome commitment that they would "end the detention of children for immigration purposes". This policy has still not been put into place. Although they are given limited support by Social Services, many of the unaccompanied children arriving here do not even have access to legal advice, and most of them are not at an age to understand the legal procedures they are going through. It is paramount that asylum seekers are offered sanctuary in the UK and a fair chance to have their stories heard.
Asylum seekers are just here to take advantage of the benefit system and steal our jobs is another myth put about by politicians. Recent studies show that asylum seekers know very little about their final country of destination or about the UK benefits system before they come here. Those who are here for economic gain are neither refugees nor asylum seekers: they are economic migrants (mainly from Eastern Europe). Asylum seekers have been forced to leave their countries because they are being persecuted whereas economic migrants on the other hand, make a conscious choice to leave their country.
Asylum seekers do not get large handouts from the state; whilst they are awaiting a decision on their asylum case they receive 30% less than those on Income Support (the minimum amount that a person can reasonably live on in UK according to the government themselves). Though many would love to be able to contribute to the UK economic system, asylum seekers are not allowed to work. Approximately 33% of asylum seekers have degrees or professional qualifications but they are denied the chance to use these skills whilst awaiting a decision on their case. Refugees have made a massive cultural, social and economic contribution to life in the UK in the last 450 years, despite often negative government and popular responses. Some famous refugees include Michael Marks (founder of Marks and Spencer from Russia/Poland). People born outside the UK (including refugees and asylum seekers) are significant contributors to the economy.
Statistics show there has been no refugee crime wave and that there's no established connection between asylum and increased crime rates. In fact, asylum seekers are more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators. There has been an increase in the number of violent attacks on asylum seekers as a result of their negative portrayal in the popular press.
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