Home Office told to rethink treatment of immigrants
THE Home Office must undertake urgent “root and branch reform” of its culture, policies and approach to immigration following the Windrush scandal, a committee of MPS has said.
A report by the home affairs select committee blamed the “appalling” treatment of long-standing UK residents of Caribbean heritage on political decisions which created an environment in which they were treated with suspicion.
The policy, known as the “hostile environment”, was championed by Theresa May when she was home secretary. Sajid Javid, the new Home Secretary, has already signalled a shift away from the hardline approach.
However, the committee said there was a danger of repeating the mistakes with three million EU nationals resident in the UK following Brexit.
Some 8,000 people who arrived in the UK as long ago as the Fifties have now contacted the Windrush task force set up by the Home Office, with more than 2,000 receiving documents confirming their right to stay in Britain.
But the committee said it was “unacceptable” that the Government was still unable to say how many people were unlawfully detained, ordered to report to Home Office centres, lost their jobs or denied access to services.
The report called for an immediate re-evaluation of the “hostile environment”, which tries to deter illegal migrants by requiring people to prove their right to be in the UK.
Other recommendations included an overhaul of the casework culture at UK Visas and Immigration, the restoration of immigration appeals and legal aid and the ditching of the Government’s flagship goal to cut net migration below 100,000 a year.
Ministers have promised to compensate Windrush generation members.