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Thousands of asylum seekers currently staying in hotels are facing expulsion from the UK, the Home Office announced.
A letter from the Home Office, seen by The Independent, states that the evictions of rejected asylum seekers will be carried out “with immediate effect” and charities have reported an increase in people being detained in immigration detention centers.
Asylum seekers whose cases have been rejected and who do not have an appeal pending will start receiving notices to leave the UK within 21 days from this week. This group does not usually draw on public funds.
The Home Office recently closed an immigration detention center, Morton Hall, and is using another, Yarls Wood, to process asylum seekers arriving here in small boats from northern France.
While some rejected asylum seekers were placed in hotels financed by the Interior Ministry, local authorities are paying for their temporary hotel accommodation. It is not known whether the latter group will be eliminated.
About half of the homeless who were given hotels and other temporary accommodation in London when the lockdown began are believed to be migrants.
In the letter to charities last Tuesday, the UK’s Director General for Visas and Immigration said asylum seekers with negative decisions would receive eviction notices “with immediate effect” in England. The consultation will be carried out with the officials of the delegated administrations before the evictions.
In June, the Public Interest Law Center expressed concern about the possible fate of migrants who are unable to draw on public funds after the closure.
“The right of a human being to safety, care and shelter should never depend on the place of birth or the papers they hold,” said a PILC spokesperson.
Luke Hall, formerly Minister for Sleep and Hard Housing, wrote to councils on May 28 about the accommodation of people who sleep with difficulty, both British citizens and immigrants. He said: “For some people, voluntary return to their home country may be the best outcome for them.”
Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said her organization was aware of an increase in the number of people detained by immigration: “It is a scandal that in pre-Covid times, people trapped in the asylum system had to rely on the charity support. for their own survival. But pushing people, including families, back into homelessness and destitution as we enter a second wave of this pandemic shows an evident disregard for human life at the highest levels of government.
“Large numbers of these people will have their initial asylum denials overturned on appeal and others cannot be removed while the flights are on the ground, so this is punitive and politicized decision-making at its worst.”
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said: “The gradual cessation of support has now started in order to reduce demand in the asylum system. It was clear to us from the start that this was a temporary measure that would be terminated as soon as it was safe to do so.
“Those who have received a negative asylum decision, which means they have no right to stay in the UK, are given a 21 day grace period. During this time, they are expected to take the necessary steps to return to their home country while remaining in accommodation and receiving support.
“Assistance is available for those who leave voluntarily, but for those who do not, steps can be taken to facilitate removal.”
