It was incredibly sobering to hear the Government’s announcement this week on migration. Putting aside their use of language, calling people ‘illegal migrants’, when so many of them are people seeking safety and many of them will go onto be recognised as refugees with permission to stay in the country, it is their plan that will basically extinguish the right to people seeking asylum, seeking safety, in the UK.
And after recent years that we have seen the numbers of people in detention decreasing and the Government even investing in community alternatives to detention, now we face the prospect of people who arrive in this country being detained indefinitely.
At the Forum we had a members’ meeting this week where we discussed our new campaign to promote a compassionate and practical alternative to immigration detention. We know that there is a better, more humane, more effective and cheaper way. We will continue to make this case in the months ahead!
