Asylum policy: Religious leaders are calling on Boris Johnson to rethink

asylum policy
Religious leaders are calling on Boris Johnson to rethink

Representatives of the leading British religious communities have called on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to rethink asylum policy.

In their letter from Johnson, published on Monday, the clergy are calling for changes to the proposed tightened British immigration law, which is due to be debated in London’s House of Lords on Monday. They are “horrified and shocked” by the plans and warn that the law in its current form would “fundamentally damage” human dignity and other British values.

Planned criminalization of boat migrants

“As conflict and injustice still exist in the world, there will always be desperate people who need to seek refuge from war, persecution and suffering,” the letter said. “We can’t close our door on them, but this bill does just that.”

Specifically, the criticism is directed at the Conservative government’s plan to significantly curtail the rights of people who come to Great Britain and apply for asylum there. For example, people who enter the country illegally – like tens of thousands across the English Channel last year – are to be criminalized, which would affect their chances of asylum. At the same time, however, no legal routes would be created through which asylum seekers could enter the country, according to the criticism.

The more than 1,000 signatories to the ecumenical alliance’s open letter include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and leading representatives of Muslim and Jewish religious communities.

Regaining control of one’s own borders was one of the key promises of Brexit. Home Secretary Priti Patel has repeatedly made proposals to deter refugees, which experts say would violate international law.

dpa