Time to change the story

Time to change the story

As the merry-go-round of government continues, with prime ministers and home secretaries dropping in and out of office every few weeks, the migrants who are helping keep the country running continue to face steepling problems.

The main newspaper and broadcasting headlines are about those at the helm, while those in the engine room get less attention. For example, here is a random selection of stories affecting asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, who arrive here in search of safety, work, education or a different way of life.

• Asylum seekers: Home Office accused of ‘catastrophic child protection failure’. "Over 220 unaccompanied children revealed as missing from hotels funded by the department."
• Vulnerable Migrants Cut Out of Cost of Living Support. "The ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition means migrant people who are destitute or on very low incomes will not be entitled to Government help."
• Removal of Albanians raises concerns over fast-track deportations. "Mishka Pillay, a campaigns consultant at Detention Action, said ‘this removal of 11 people to Albania is an indication that people in Manston [where the Home Office processes small boat arrivals] may be deprived of due process.We have had serious concerns about Manston. The most vulnerable people are being hidden away from vital support and access to justice."
• Migrant fishermen being ‘exploited due to loophole’. "An “invisible” underclass of up to 1,000 migrant fishermen are working on Scottish boats with some not even being paid due to a legal loophole."
• Asylum seekers’ phones were unlawfully seized, court rules. "More than 1,300 asylum seekers who arrived in the UK in small boats and had their phones unlawfully seized by officials can claim compensation, the high court has ruled.”
• Watchdog contradicts Braverman on migrants ‘gaming’ laws. “The head of Britain’s labour abuse watchdog says her organisation has not seen anyone ‘gaming’ the modern slavery system for immigration purposes. The comments directly contradict the home secretary, Suella Braverman, who said last week that trafficking claims from “people gaming the system” were “derailing the UK’s policy on illegal migration”.
• UK accused over Tamil boat refugees ‘escorted back to sea from Diego Garcia’. "Lawyers have accused the UK of facilitating dangerous onward boat journeys by Tamil refugees who had arrived in distress at the British-claimed territor of Diego Garcia."
• Firm rebuked by Ofsted given asylum contract. “A private prison firm  that was criticised over dangerous conditions at a youth jail is now providing security at an asylum seekers’ centre where Border Force staff have warned that overcrowding and assaults are creating a pressure-cooker situation."
• What it’s like to be an asylum seeker in the UK during the cost of living crisis. “Asylum seekers are feeling desperate as the cost of living crisis means the £40 per week they are given by the Government covers fewer and fewer of their essentials. Asylum seekers in self-catered accommodation get £40.85 per week per person to cover essentials like food, clothing, toiletries, non-prescription medication, travel and communications.”

There are scores of other incidents and issues. Then there are the problems facing migrant workers - not least the exorbitant cost of visa fees, which, as we have spotlighted in our report Destroying hopes, dreams and lives: How the UK visa costs and process impact migrants' lives - are splitting families, causing ill-health, deterring needed workers, blighting lives.

These and other problems have not disappeared because of the ruling party’s problems: many have become worse.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parents migrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s. He is proud of his parents’ determination to work hard and make a new home Britain - which is exactly what most immigrant workers want.

He should make it a priority to remove barriers and prejudices against migrants, and to dismantle the Hostile Environment.

Photo credit: John S / Flickr