At the beginning of March, the Government introduced the 'Refugee Ban Bill' (formally the Illegal Migration Bill) which sets out that refugees arriving on small boats in the UK will be detained and deported "within weeks" - either to their own country if it is safe or a third nation if it is not.
The proposals have been met with outrage from migrant rights organisations, legal charities, and wider civil society. The Public Law Project has called on the Government to scrap the legislation altogether, saying that if enacted, “it will be ineffective and unjust; the exact opposite of what a fair and humane immigration system should look like”. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants highlighted that the Bill “won’t stop people seeking safety here but it will likely lead to more detention, cruelty, and delays for people in our asylum system”.
Exacerbating an already hostile immigration environment will be increasing demand and worsen hardship in connected sectors that many funders support such as children and young people, families, poverty, employment, education, domestic abuse, health, homelessness, criminal justice, and strong communities.
Join our upcoming insight meeting, happening on the 26 April, from 10.00 – 11.00 to hear from expert speakers Caitlin Boswell (Policy and Advocacy Manager, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) and Jenni Regan (CEO, IMIX) about how funders can support migrants and asylum seekers in an increasingly hostile environment.