| answer text |
<p>I do not recognise the figures presented in the Together with Refugees publication
of 1 June regarding women and children. Some mention is made in the report of illegal
entry figures quoted in the New Plan for Immigration policy statement, and to wider
published data, but neither support the specific conclusions made in the publication.</p><p>In
drawing its conclusions, Together with Refugees states: “The new rules would mean
that all those who claim asylum after arriving in the UK through an irregular route
would face removal to a third country, with their asylum claim only progressing if
removal is not possible…” That is not how the current policy operates, nor how we
intend the future process to operate.</p><p>Our current policy is clear that decisions
are made on a case-by-case basis, not rigidly or en masse. Irregular entry is not
the sole criterion or even a necessary criterion on which inadmissibility processes
operate. Inadmissibility applies only where someone has a connection to or has been
present in a safe third country before coming to the UK.</p><p>There are many circumstances
where the inadmissibility rules would not be applied, including: to an unaccompanied
child; to someone who has had no opportunity to claim asylum in the safe third country,
for instance, because they were under the control of traffickers; to someone who demonstrates
that in their particular case, return to the third country would place them at risk
of harm; and to someone who demonstrates that in their specific circumstances there
are reasons under the Human Rights Act why they should remain in the UK.</p><p>There
will be instances where the inadmissibility rules will apply to families. We know
that some people, including women with children, reach safe EU countries where they
have the opportunity to claim asylum and obtain the protection they need, but then
as a matter of preference, choose to make further unnecessary and dangerous journeys
to the UK. Such actions from people who have already reached safety exposes not only
the claimants themselves to significant danger, but also their children and the individuals
involved in their rescue.</p><p>Our inadmissibility rules aim to deter anyone thinking
of making a dangerous journey to the UK when already in a safe country, and make it
clear that those who could and should have claimed asylum in the first safe country
they enter may not have their claims determined in the UK.</p>
|
|
