The U.K. government’s recent announcement of hostile immigration policies has outraged campaigners and experts, who argue these measures endanger migrants rather than protect them, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation. It raises the question: has the government learned nothing from the harms and failures of the Rwanda scheme and the recent far-right riots across the U.K.?
Lessons of past government failures not learned
The government’s failure to learn from past mistakes and its capitulation to anti-migrant rhetoric exacerbates the vulnerability of people on the move, making the situation more perilous for those seeking safety.
As reported by The Big Issue, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper unveiled plans to increase deportations to the highest rate possible and expand immigration detention, framing them as efforts to “smash the gangs” and bolster border security. However, these strategies are eerily reminiscent of past approaches that have failed to protect migrants and have instead contributed to their exploitation.
Mary Atkinson, campaigns and networks manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, criticized these policies, stating that,
“Labour are choosing to ramp up hostile immigration policies and a ‘security’-driven approach. This is nothing new – in fact, it’s the same approach that’s led to people dying at our borders, treated inhumanely in prison-like detention centers and denied their rights.”
These policies, Atkinson argues, force migrants into precarious situations, making them easy targets for exploitation. When migrants are denied safe and legal routes, they are compelled to take dangerous journeys, increasing their vulnerability.
Giving into the hateful anti-migrant riots
The government’s approach also appears to be pandering to the hateful views of the anti-migrant far-right riots by intensifying its hostile stance on immigration. This is a dangerous path, as it risks legitimizing the very hatred that led to the violence and further endangering migrants.
Zoe Gardner, an independent migration policy expert, expressed concern that Labour’s approach is akin to finding its own version of the controversial Rwanda scheme, saying,
“Funnelling more money into detention and deportation is brutal and simply targets the victims instead of addressing the system failures that create irregular migration.”
By continuing the narrative that immigrants can simply be removed, the government is reinforcing harmful stereotypes and increasing the risks faced by migrants.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, refugee and migrant rights programme director at Amnesty International U.K., warned that the government’s rhetoric of “border security” and “smashing gangs” could actually embolden smuggling gangs and fuel racist and Islamophobic violence.
Valdez-Symonds states,
“A new set of ministers promoting an age-old message of fear and hostility regarding some of the most victimized and traumatized people who may ever arrive in the U.K. means that smuggling gangs and racist and Islamophobic hate-mongers at home are likely to feed off this to everyone’s detriment.”
Government-sanctioned “devastating harm”
The expansion of immigration detention is particularly concerning, as it places already vulnerable individuals at greater risk of harm. Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, emphasized the devastating impact of such policies, stating,
“We know from the survivors of torture we support that blunt enforcement policies and detention only ever cause devastating harm.”
These policies do not provide protection; instead, they expose migrants to further exploitation and abuse.
The latest wave of hostile migration policies is not just ineffective; it is actively putting migrants and asylum seekers in greater danger. These individuals are not inherently vulnerable to exploitation, but the hostile policies and anti-migration rhetoric are making them so. By failing to learn from past mistakes and giving in to anti-migrant sentiment, the government is increasing the risk of exploitation and harm to those seeking safety.
We stand in solidarity with those who now face heightened fear for their future in the U.K. due to unjust laws and inhumane treatment. Sign our petition demanding genuine anti-human trafficking immigration policies, because legitimizing inhumane treatment of anyone, regardless of their immigration status, should never be allowed to pass.
To learn more about the dangers of hostile migration policies, watch our webinar on migration politics that kill, and how governments exacerbate human trafficking.
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