THE immigration debate in the United Kingdom is weighted towards those with the ability to pay rather than those in greatest need, the Churches’ Refugee Network conference heard earlier this month in Sheffield.
Many refugees and migrants attended the day-long event. The policy director of the Migrants' Rights Network, Ruth Grove-White, called for a more level playing-field, one not tilted towards "the brightest and best".
The Revd Fleur Houston of the United Reformed Church said that Christianity called for all people to be treated equally, not singling out the privileged. "It was not enough to welcome the stranger; we should also be ready to receive from them," she said.
The conference agreed a position statement that criticised the Government's Immigration Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. Among the criticisms, “rules relating to Adult Dependant Relatives are harsh to the point of cruelty and should be eased.”
Previously, financially dependant adults aged over 65 were able to apply to settle in the UK, but now they have to prove that they are unable to care for themselves to the point of not being able to wash, dress, or cook without help, and are unable to obtain access to care in their own country.
The position statement also said that "the income level of £18,600 set for bringing foreign-born spouses and/or children of British citizens to the UK is too high for some 48 per cent of British people": it did not reflect lower average incomes outside London and the south-east region.
The Network also criticised the use of private firms to deport failed asylum-seekers: “The separation between the Home Office and such firms leads to a lack of accountability and an evasion of responsibility.”
The conference registered concerns about lengths of detention, the refusal to allow the right to work to those waiting months for their asylum case to be heard, and the restrictions on legal aid.
“We are seeing serious delays of hearing schedules extended not by weeks, but by months. Slow justice eventually becomes injustice,” the Network warned.