The ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ destroys the right to claim asylum and will put women seeking safety in the UK at further risk of harm.
Our message to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak:
Dear Prime Minister,
Your ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ shamefully uses a crisis of humanity as cover for a power grab. It will strip away the basic rights of refugees, victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, and other people who move, while bulldozing domestic and international laws in the process.
It will remove fundamental human rights from people who have fled life-threatening situations in their home countries, and sought safety and protection in the UK, in order to score cheap political points – endangering them in inhumane detention centres and putting them at risk of further harm, torture, and even death if deported. This includes women, children, and LGBTQI+ people fleeing countries known to be unsafe as well as victims and survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. By doubling down on the hostile environment, the Bill will also increase the risk of people being trafficked and exploited.
The State must never pick and choose who is allowed to exercise their basic human rights. While this Government’s plans will harm those seeking safety the most, this is an attack on all of us and the values we hold dear.
As caring people, we need to do the right thing and treat everyone with compassion. We need safe routes now, so that people can seek safety and a better life without the need to undertake dangerous journeys and without being punished for how they enter the UK. We need to create an asylum and immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect.
It is not too late to abandon these inhumane plans and restore the UK’s reputation as a country that cares. This Bill cannot and does not represent us.
We demand that you urgently abandon your cruel and unworkable ‘Illegal Migration Bill’.
Take action and sign our petition to urge the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to urgently scrap the cruel and harmful ‘Illegal Migration Bill’.
Under the new ‘Illegal Migration Bill’, women fleeing persecution who arrive in the UK via ‘irregular’ means will be prevented from claiming asylum and detained indefinitely, risking huge harm to women seeking safety in the UK.
The Bill includes no exemption for those who are pregnant, removing the vital protection introduced by the 2016 72-hour time limit on the detention of pregnant women, risking huge harm to women and their unborn babies.
We cannot let this happen. Women seeking safety in our communities, from rape, torture, and gender-based violence, deserve a fair hearing and a chance to rebuild their lives.
The petition is a joint petition between Women for Refugee Women, Just Right Scotland, Liberty, NACCOM, Praxis, Rainbow Migration, and Rene Cassin. As a joint petition, all signatures will be collated and handed in by Liberty. If you sign, the data you provide in signing this petition will be shared with Liberty for this sole purpose. You will not be contacted by Liberty. Read Liberty’s privacy policy here.
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