Kolbassia Haoussou, a former refugee and director of survivor leadership and influencing at the charity Freedom from Torture, told the Big Issue the move risks creating a “two-tier system” for refugees and migrants.
“As somebody that came here as a refugee, and then got British citizenship, and as somebody that is working on a daily basis to improve the plight of refugees… I am really appalled and also disappointed that this country, that has done so much for international law, and always treated people with compassion, that we can do something like this. I just cannot comprehend how we could go that low,” Haoussou said.
He warned that denying refugees citizenship could create a “second-class citizenship, because you will never feel completely part of the country.”
“Having citizenship underlines that you belong to the country, and you’re part of the country”, he explained, and without it “you’re always going to be considered the foreign person… it will create so much discrimination, and racism as well.”
He added that refugees and torture survivors, who he has worked with at Freedom from Torture, will be “impacted negatively” by the guidance, and need stability in order to “start processing and rebuilding their life”.
Haoussou explained that the best way to both support refugees and crack down on people-smuggling gangs is to create safe pathways for asylum seekers to enter the UK.
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“For many people, there’s no alternative, so to stop people from using small boats we need to create an alternative route for people,” he explained, stating that travelling on small boats is “extremely dangerous”, and that it’s a “risk you take because that’s the only option that we have”.
“Creating an alternative pathway that people can use without getting into the boats, for me would be the solution that would stop people risking their lives, and at the same time completely destroy the business… so that people don’t rely on smugglers,” he said, explaining that just “blocking people’s citizenship is not going to allow integration into the country, is not going to create that sense of belonging and sense of community”.
“We need to create a system that’s going to treat people with respect, dignity and compassion,” he added.
Denying citizenship will leave refugees in a ‘state of limbo’
Daniel Sohege, director of human rights organisation Stand For All, added: “People come to the UK to seek safety and rebuild their lives after they have suffered through unimaginable trauma. They come because they have existing ties, and believe that they will be safe. Denying them the possibility of ever receiving citizenship denies them the opportunity to feel that. It leaves them in a state of limbo, and permanent fear for the future.”
They added: “By the very nature of denying people already granted asylum the ability to ever apply for citizenship based on their manner of entry, this government not only causes them more harm, but also creates a discriminatory penalty against people it has recognised as having the right to be here. That isn’t just inhumane, it is illegal.”
“It fundamentally violates the tenets of the Refugee Convention, by penalising people for their manner of entry and denying them an opportunity to assimilate into the country they had hoped to call home,” they explained.
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Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah, director of communications at Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, explained that “anti-migrant rhetoric” was part of what led to last year’s “terrible riots targeting migrants and refugees”.
“Now, instead of coming down hard on the far-right elements that stoked the riots, this government is pandering to them,” Muthiah said.
“Let us be very clear – for the vast majority of refugees and migrants, there is no other way to come here. You or I can apply for a visa to go and live, work or travel overseas, but our government does not allow people from many places in the global south to do the same,” he said.
Muthiah explained that to “force people to risk their lives to come here” only to deny them citizenship is “cruel, inhumane and questionable under International law”, urging the government to “roll back” on the policy.
The move comes just days after the Home Office announced that the number of migrant arrests last month was the highest figure for any January on record.
As part of a “crackdown” on illegal working in the UK, the Home Office reported that throughout January, immigration enforcement teams “descended on 828 premises, including nail bars, convenience stores, restaurants and car washes”, in a 48% rise compared to the previous January.
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Arrests last month totalled 609, a 73% increase from the previous year.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
“This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”
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