Thursday, February 23, 2023
Hostile environment and bureaucracy
Evidence that the Tories are continuing to operate the hostile environment against asylum seekers is highlighted by this article in today's Guardian, which reports on plans to cut the backlog by sending questionnaires to refugees that will demand that claimants reply in English within 20 working days or risk refusal.
The paper says that the Home Office will begin sending out copies of the 11-page document today, to about 12,000 people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen as part of Rishi Sunak’s plans to cut the “legacy backlog” of 92,000 asylum claims. They say that the move is meant to speed up the process by which claims are processed so that people can be either given leave to remain in the UK or removed:
But the questionnaire, seen by the Guardian, asks more than 50 complicated questions that it says “must be completed in English” and suggests using “online translation tools” if necessary.
It goes on to say that a failure to return the document within 20 working days “may result in an individual’s asylum claim being withdrawn”.
The deadline has dismayed legal experts who say it places unreasonable demands on vulnerable people who will not be able to seek legal advice on time.
Questions that may have to be translated online into languages such as Pashto, or one of the nine official languages of Eritrea, by claimants include: “If you do fear officials in your country, is it possible to email or telephone family members or friends in your country of origin to request [identity documents] without placing yourself or them at risk?”
Another question asks: “Were you subject to human trafficking (the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit) or modern slavery (severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain) during your journey to or after you arrived in the UK?”
Colin Yeo, an immigration barrister and author, said claimants would not be able to seek specialist advice within the 20-day deadline, given cuts to legal aid and demands on the profession.
“There is no way that 20 days is enough time to complete that form,” he said. “Because of the backlog, there is no way that there are enough lawyers to meet the demand in such a short space of time. It is just not fair.”
Caitlin Boswell, the policy and campaigns manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “People fleeing desperate circumstances clearly need this government to make quicker and fairer asylum decisions, but this latest move from government is clumsy, unthinking and could put people’s safety at risk. No one’s right to refuge should be jeopardised because they weren’t able to fill in an unwieldy form in a language they don’t speak.”
No doubt this approach seemed like a good idea to some official sitting in an ivory tower in Westminister, but it shows that the originators of the scheme are out-of-touch with the cicumstances many asylum seekers find themselves in. This tone deaf approach is a further extension of the hostile environment policy being operated by this government against those fleeing war, famine and torture.
The paper says that the Home Office will begin sending out copies of the 11-page document today, to about 12,000 people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen as part of Rishi Sunak’s plans to cut the “legacy backlog” of 92,000 asylum claims. They say that the move is meant to speed up the process by which claims are processed so that people can be either given leave to remain in the UK or removed:
But the questionnaire, seen by the Guardian, asks more than 50 complicated questions that it says “must be completed in English” and suggests using “online translation tools” if necessary.
It goes on to say that a failure to return the document within 20 working days “may result in an individual’s asylum claim being withdrawn”.
The deadline has dismayed legal experts who say it places unreasonable demands on vulnerable people who will not be able to seek legal advice on time.
Questions that may have to be translated online into languages such as Pashto, or one of the nine official languages of Eritrea, by claimants include: “If you do fear officials in your country, is it possible to email or telephone family members or friends in your country of origin to request [identity documents] without placing yourself or them at risk?”
Another question asks: “Were you subject to human trafficking (the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit) or modern slavery (severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain) during your journey to or after you arrived in the UK?”
Colin Yeo, an immigration barrister and author, said claimants would not be able to seek specialist advice within the 20-day deadline, given cuts to legal aid and demands on the profession.
“There is no way that 20 days is enough time to complete that form,” he said. “Because of the backlog, there is no way that there are enough lawyers to meet the demand in such a short space of time. It is just not fair.”
Caitlin Boswell, the policy and campaigns manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “People fleeing desperate circumstances clearly need this government to make quicker and fairer asylum decisions, but this latest move from government is clumsy, unthinking and could put people’s safety at risk. No one’s right to refuge should be jeopardised because they weren’t able to fill in an unwieldy form in a language they don’t speak.”
No doubt this approach seemed like a good idea to some official sitting in an ivory tower in Westminister, but it shows that the originators of the scheme are out-of-touch with the cicumstances many asylum seekers find themselves in. This tone deaf approach is a further extension of the hostile environment policy being operated by this government against those fleeing war, famine and torture.
