On the 11th July, the UK Parliament debated the Illegation Migration Bill, which ended with the passing of the Bill for royal ascent. Please see below a statement written by Routes Founding Director Leyla McLennan:
You may have seen the news that the Refugee Ban Bill will now become law, despite the fact that it breaches the Refugee Convention. We are deeply saddened by this news.
Seeking asylum is a human right, but the UK has now effectively extinguished this through passing this Bill; anyone arriving ‘irregularly’ to claim asylum will be banned from doing so. There are almost no safe routes into the UK so this will affect the majority of refugees that need protection.
We stand in solidarity with everyone who this bill unfairly punishes, and all the organisations and individuals who have tried their best to stop this from happening.
This is a dark moment in the UK’s history, but we will continue to fight to create a compassionate and humane welcome for all those seeking safety. We hope you will join us!
If like us, you have been feeling disheartened by this news, watch this video for a message of hope from Freedom From Torture.
This fight needs as much support as it can get; now that the Illegal Migration Act has become another one of the UK’s #AntiRefugeeLaws, it’s more improtant than ever to fight for a just, compassionate asylum system and commit to repealing these harmful laws.
Join us and sign the pledge today: fighttheantirefugeelaws.org
