Amid the threat posed by Farage and Reform’s rise in the polls, the government recognises that unless it can assert control and grip over the problem, there is a real risk it could lose to Reform.
With concern over immigration growing, and the issue now ranked by the public as one of the most important facing the country, the Labour government has made tackling illegal immigration a major priority.
Amid the threat posed by Farage and Reform’s rise in the polls, the government recognises that unless it can assert control and grip over the problem, there is a real risk it could lose to Reform.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s changes to the asylum system, billed as the most radical since the second world war, have caused a stir even among her own backbenchers. So, what are the major changes being set out?
1. Temporary settlement
Those granted asylum will have to wait 20 years to apply to settle permanently. Previously, they could begin this process after five years. Some have criticised this move, saying in the end the lack of clarity on status will prove more costly to the state.
In another major change, asylum status will only be granted on a temporary basis and subject to regular review every two-and-a-half years, meaning people could be returned to their home nation if it is deemed safe.
2. Changes to Right to family life
Amid growing frustration that human rights laws were being used to block deportations, the government is also looking to overhaul how human rights legislation is applied to migration court cases. Mahmood will bring forward a Bill to change how article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to family life, is applied in migration court cases.
3.Fewer appeals
Under the proposed changes fewer appeals will be allowed, with asylum seekers restricted to a single appeal, which, if fails, will see them deported.
4.New legal routes to the UK to be introduced
While the government is determined to tackle the pull factors on illegal immigration, it also says that it will introduce new legal routes for asylum seekers to the UK as a way to reduce the number of dangerous journeys in small boats.
The routes will be capped and are designed to give communities a greater say about the presence of refugees.
5. Visa bans
The government has also threatened to stop granting visas to people from three African countries – Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – if their governments do not improve co-operation on removals of illegal migrants.
6. Asylum seekers with assets to contribute to cost of accommodation
The home secretary is also expected to announce that asylum seekers who have assets will be expected to contribute to the cost of their accommodation.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
