01/09/2025 08:39
The Guardian
Proposals for financial or language requirements will either split families or force them into dangerous journeys, says Refugee CouncilGood morning. August used to be known as the “silly season” in newspaper offices because, with little proper news happening, journalists had to resort to trivia. Then we had Brexit, and the four-week silly season got replaced by eight years of chaos. This year there has been a slight reversion to the pre-2106 norm because the UK political debate over the summer has been entirely dominated by a debate about small boats and irregular migration which has not been fully rational. The claim that asylum seekers are posing a significant threat to public safety is classic xenophobic scaremongering, of the kind that has been a factor in British public life for centuries. (There is a good explanation of why the evidence does not support the scaremongering here.) But the issue isn’t remotely silly either. Small boat arrivals are a huge policy challenge for the government, because of the costs and the pressures on public services, but above all because the public want them to stop.And, with the summer recess now over and MPs returning to the Commons, this is still the top item on the government’s agenda. As Kiran Stacey reports, Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is due to make a statement to the Commons on this topic this afternoon. She will cover various topics, including providing more detail on the government’s plan to restrict the extent to which article 8 of the European convention on human rights (the right to family life) can be used by asylum seekers to avoid deporting and giving an update on the “one in, one out” returns deal with France. But she will also give details of plans to restrict the ability of people granted asylum to bring family members to the UK. Kiran says:Cooper will promise to overhaul the UK’s family reunion policy, which allows people to bring their partners and children to the country once they are granted refugee status.The number of people who entered on such visas has risen sharply since 2022, with just over 20,000 being granted in the year to June 2025 – a 30% rise on the previous 12 months.The immigration white paper proposed putting in financial and language requirements. Financial requirements for refugees who have been stuck in the asylum system unable to work, and language requirements for children escaping war zonesThis will either force families to stay split up, leaving thousands of women and children in extremely dangerous situations, or it forces them into dangerous journeys. Either way, this has terrible consequences.In the year to June 2025, 92% of refugee family reunion visas were given to women and children. More than half went to children. Two thirds to people from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran and Sudan. It helps integration and provides a safe route. Family reunion should be easier, not harder. Continue reading...
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