Today, people seeking asylum in the UK are facing laws and policies that deny their dignity.
Families are kept apart. People are forced into poverty and isolation. Many live in fear, unable to rebuild their lives even after being recognised as refugees.
As Christians, we cannot accept a system that treats people as problems to be managed rather than neighbours to be welcomed.
Together, we can build a society that welcomes, protects and stands alongside people seeking safety.
Together with our friends at Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and other Christians organisations and communities across the country, we're calling on the UK Government to:
END IMMIGRATION DETENTION and support people through their asylum claims in the community
RESTORE THE RIGHT TO ASYLUM so that everyone seeking safety has their claim heard fairly
PUT DIGNITY AND PROTECTION AT THE HEART OF THE ASYLUM SYSTEM to allow people to live, work and rebuild their lives in community
When people arrive in the UK they are often met with: Barriers that prevent people from having their asylum claims heard fairly
Refugees are forced to flee their home because of war, persecution and violence. This is not a choice - it's to protect their lives.
This is not inevitable - it's the result of political choices: and political choices can change.
With increasingly hostile policies and rhetoric undermining the ability of refugees to rebuild their lives, urgent action is needed now.
