Everyone deserves to be safe. Oppose the Rwanda scheme.
Lisa Matthews, Policy and Campaigns Manager, 23rd April 2024
Everyone deserves to be safe. People seeking safety in the UK should have their asylum claims decided quickly and fairly here – not sent to a country whose asylum system has been proved to be unsafe.
The Rwanda policy – the government scheme to send people who are seeking safety in the UK away to Rwanda – was first introduced in 2022 and has faced widespread opposition and legal challenges ever since. To date, no one has been removed to Rwanda under the policy, but millions of pounds have been wasted through this government’s attempt to scapegoat refugees to distract from the real problems in this country.
In attempt to circumvent the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court – the highest court in the UK – that Rwanda isn’t safe for people seeking asylum, the government introduced the “Safety of Rwanda” Bill.
The Rwanda legislation introduces a legal fiction – that Rwanda’s asylum system is safe, no matter what evidence might show otherwise.
The Bill passed through Parliament last night, and we can now expect to see the government attempting immediate flights to Rwanda.
While the Rwanda policy has been touted as the key plank that would enable the government to fully enact the inadmissibility and removal provisions of the 2023 ‘Illegal’ Migration Act (see our blog post on this here), the Home Office appears to be intending to attempt to remove people who had previously received notices of intent of inadmissibility/removal to Rwanda and who do not fall under the criteria of the 2023 Act.
What this means for the people affected by these laws and policies created to garner headlines is confusion, fear, and an inability to feel safe and rebuild their lives in the UK.
We are seeing an unprecedented dismantling of the systems and principles of protection, at the same time as a homelessness emergency for people who are finally recognised as refugees here in the UK; the impossibility of securing vital legal representation for young people trying to navigate the complex and hugely consequential asylum system; and children routinely being disbelieved and wrongly treated as adults. The asylum system does need fixing – and not through the immoral and unlawful off-shoring of asylum claims. “
“Stop spending money on Rwanda and build more homes”
Malak, young person at Young Roots
Young people are scared and we are scared for them – but we will not stop fighting. With a general election approaching, it is more important than ever that our political representatives know that we oppose the Rwanda scheme and that we want the asylum ban that is the ‘Illegal’ Migration Act repealed.
Please join us and tell your MP that you – like the overwhelming majority of people – believe in care and compassion for people seeking safety.