Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK) has strongly condemned the Government’s latest proposal to deport asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected and who have exhausted their legal right to appeal, sending them to ‘removal hubs’ in Southeast Europe.

JRS UK warns that this policy will cause lasting harm to vulnerable people seeking sanctuary in the UK, many of whom face grave risks if deported.

Sophie Cartwright, Senior Policy Officer at JRS UK, said:

“At JRS UK, we work with people who have been refused asylum and declared ‘appeal rights exhausted.’ Time and again, these individuals have been badly let down by the government’s hostile and broken asylum system.

“After years of struggle, many people in this situation are eventually recognised as having had a legitimate need for sanctuary all along. Every year, thousands of people wrongly refused asylum are granted refugee status following fresh asylum claims. Yet under these new proposals, they would be forcibly removed from the UK and face incarceration in another country.

“The truth is that our asylum system is failing to protect vulnerable people, and this failure is worsening because individuals cannot access the advice or support they need. The government must abandon these cruel plans and instead focus on fixing the system to ensure that those in need of protection receive it.”

To find out more about the work of Jesuit Refugee Service UK please click here.  

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