LGBTQ asylum seeker charity warns of ‘extreme’ human cost to the UK government’s Illegal Migration Bill
Exclusive: Rainbow Migration's Legal and Policy Director, Sonia Lenegan, told Attitude that the bill is "an absolute horror show."
Rainbow Migration, a charity helping LGBTQ asylum seekers, has warned of an “extreme” human cost if the bill becomes law.
The charity has also labelled the UK government’s Illegal Migration Bill “an absolute horror show.”
It gave its verdict, which would see people seeking asylum in the UK turned away, after the bill appeared before MPs for a second time on Monday (13 March)
Sonia Lenegan, Rainbow Migration’s Legal and Policy Director, told Attitude what calls they’d had from worried people they work with.
“One of the first calls we got last week was someone who contacted us and said: ‘With these new laws, I feel like I’m not wanted here.’ They’ve been asking how it will affect their asylum claim.”
The bill will affect people if they arrived in the UK on or after 7th March.
Discussing the language being used around the issue, including ‘criminals,” and “invasion,” Lenegan said: “It’s cruel. It’s language that’s been used to try and dehumanise a group who are vulnerable people who are coming to the UK, and asking us to keep them safe.
“The government should not be talking about people in that way.”
Lenegan also described the bill generally as “an absolute horror show,” that is “unworkable.” She pointed to the arrangements the Home Secretary has spoken of for sending tens of thousands of asylum seekers to countries such as Uganda and Rwanda. These don’t exist.
“It looks like the Home Secretary is planning to impose a duty on herself that she will be incapable of fulfilling. It just seems bizarre from a political point of view, as well as the fact that, if any of this is enacted, the human cost is going to be extreme.”
“It’s completely heartbreaking”
Commenting on how quickly the bill is being pushed through Parliament Lenegan feared that will mean less scrutiny. This could mean more questions after the bill becomes law (if that happens)
“It is upsetting because I have worked in asylum law for a decade or so,” Lenegan continued. “I’ve worked with so many people who have been in the asylum system, and who’ve come out the other end. I know them as individuals, I really do see the face behind the case.
“To think about the people I’ve worked with, to think of any of them being caught up in the circumstances envisaged by this bill… it’s completely heartbreaking.”
Finally, she called on the UK government “To drop the bill and to come up with a more humane way of processing these claims that have been sitting there for far too long.”
The Illegal Migration Bill will mean individuals arriving illegally will be detained without bail or judicial review for 28 days.
They will then face being removed and blocked from ever returning. The bill will also determine an annual cap on the number of refugees the UK will resettle.
Among the countries where the UK government hopes to resettle people are Uganda, Nigeria, and Rwanda.
In 2021, up to 50 people were granted asylum from Nigeria on the grounds of sexual orientation. Hardly the place to send LGBTQ asylum seekers.
LGBTQ people in all three African nations face oppression. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s own advice warns people of this in Rwanda.
“You will not be allowed to stay”
In response to a request for comment, Attitude was referred to an earlier statement from the Home Secretary.
“By bringing in new laws, I am making it absolutely clear that the only route to the UK is a safe and legal route. If you come here illegally, you won’t be able to claim asylum or build a life here,” the statement reads.
“You will not be allowed to stay. You will be returned home if safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. It’s the only way to prevent people risking their lives and paying criminals thousands of pounds to get here.”