Parliament logo
Campaign and petition email responses | We Must Fight Anti-Refugee laws

Campaign and petition email responses

We Must Fight Anti-Refugee laws

While you will be aware that immigration is a reserved issue to the UK Government, SNP MPs at Westminster have been vocal in speaking out against consecutive Conservative Governments’ hostile environment and its fixation with migration targets.

SNP MPs opposed the Immigration Bill when it went through parliament, along with the damaging and anti-refugee Nationality and Borders Act and the immoral Rwanda scheme which it seeks to enable.

The Prime Minister has made clear that yet more legislation is now to be expected aimed at further targeting some of the most vulnerable people in the world, including victims of trafficking and modern slavery.

Recent events in Afghanistan and Ukraine have also underlined the fact that in many cases, attempting to use safe and legal routes is simply not realistic and can place people at risk given that such routes are severely limited.

The danger is that this flawed approach will cause even more people to undertake incredibly dangerous and sometimes deadly journeys. Criminalising people is not the answer.

The SNP’s arguments on this have not changed despite the Nationality and Borders Act becoming law, and myself and my fellow SNP MPs at Westminster will continue to oppose this next damaging Bill, and any that follow it, while pressing the Home Office to adopt a more welcoming approach and for safe and legal ways for all displaced children and families to be made available to enable them to reach safety in the UK.

The UK Government should drop its hostile environment approach and start living up to its international responsibilities towards asylum seekers, or if it will not, consider devolving the necessary immigration powers to Scotland to allow the Scottish Government to build an immigration system with fairness and compassion at its centre.

Parliament logo

@StewartMcDonald on Twitter

Loading