The St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales), alongside over 720 bishops, rabis, church ministers and an imam, have written to the Home Secretary to raise concerns over the Government’s proposed overhaul of t asylum policy.
Addressed to the Home Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Shabana Mahmood MP, the letter raises concerns over the impact the proposals will have on refugee families and how removing family reunion for refugees, ’risks pushing people into smugglers’ hands’.
Recently the Government suspended a vital route which allowed for partner reunion, alongside children trying to reunite with their parents. New settlement proposals would effectively end the automatic right to family reunion for newly recognised refugees and is being replaced with a more restrictive system that narrows the definition of what qualifies as family, meaning reunion is doubtful for many.
Coordinated by the Joint Public Issues Team of the Baptist, Methodist and Untied Reformed Churches, the letter pushes for the Home Secretary to rethink these plans, explaining that “making family reunion inaccessible and/or contingent on a fee-paying route will neither reduce journeys nor create a more settled country.”
Kate Nightingale, CEO of the SVP, spoke about how keeping refugee families apart only intensifies the trauma and hardship people already face.
She said: “Across England and Wales the SVP’s Centres and members see first-hand just how important these reunions are for families to enable them to rebuild their lives together with dignity and hope.
“These new proposals will make family reunions harder and risk intensifying the trauma already experienced by those fleeing conflict and persecution.
“The SVP’s Community Support Centres strive to support refugees in the community. We urge the Government to protect safe and accessible routes for families to be reunited. Enabling this not only means families can be together, but it’s essential for integration and stability into society.”
The full letter can be read here: https://jpit.uk/refugee-family-reunion-letter