Quakers in Britain reject inhumane and divisive new asylum restrictions
We are called to love our neighbour. Instead, the Home Secretary has announced further harsh restrictions on the right to sanctuary in the UK.
Our faith and common humanity demand we recognise that all people are precious, unique, a child of God. Instead, we are told our country can no longer afford mutual aid or shared humanity and must rely on punishment and exclusion.
Quakers across Britain, many working alongside refugees and people seeking asylum, utterly reject these inhumane, divisive and unworkable measures. The cost of such cruelty is far too high for our communities, our economy and the wider world.
We are especially troubled by the following proposals:
- Twenty-year route to settlement
People granted refugee status would wait 20 years to apply for permanent settlement, instead of five. Their status would be reviewed every 2.5 years, with return enforced if conditions are judged “safe". A shorter route may exist for those in work, but no details have been provided, including what happens if someone loses their job.
This plan would leave people living for two decades without stability, under constant threat of return to places already recognised as unsafe. It will discourage employers and landlords, deepen poverty and unemployment, and obstruct integration, harming us all. These repeated reviews, likely with extortionate fees, will add administrative burdens, costs and backlogs. - Large-scale and military accommodation sites
The government proposes housing people seeking asylum in large, often remote sites, including former military locations.
We urge ministers to avoid such sites, as well as hotels. Their damaging impact is well documented, and this return to failed policies ignores recommendations from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and the Chief Inspector of Prisons. Allowing people to work sooner would enable them to support themselves, pay for housing and integrate into society. - Forced removal of families with children
The government plans to consult on forcibly removing families with children who have not been granted asylum.
This would inevitably mean detaining children, an approach previously abandoned because of the harm it causes.
A spokesperson for the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network said: “We are deeply concerned by the government's readiness to base policy on unfounded narratives, driving the country into deeper anxiety and violent division.
“Refugees and migrants are essential to our wellbeing, our public services and our economy. We call for genuinely fresh policies that allow people to recover and make their contribution."