Thread by @NadiaWhittomeMP

The Nationality and Borders Bill is back in Parliament next week.

It's the biggest threat to refugee rights we’ve seen in decades and breaches our obligations under international law.

Here’s what you need to know 👇🏽 1/9

The Bill was recently updated so that the government can strip someone of British citizenship without notice.

This law will of course be used against people of colour, no matter if they were born in this country. 2/9

The Bill criminalises people coming here without permission.

But it doesn't create safe and legal routes to asylum.

Therefore people can’t travel legally and are forced to do so illegally. 3/9

If you travelled via another country (bear in mind we’re an island!), the government will refuse your asylum claim and try to get another country to process it.

The global asylum system would crumble if every country refused to play its part “bc another country is closer”. 4/9

Even if you are eventually granted refugee status, you:

▪️only get temporary leave to remain
▪️have no right to family reunion
▪️have no recourse to public funds (so risk destitution)
▪️face the constant threat of expulsion. 5/9

The government says it wants to prevent people trafficking, but this Bill pushes people into the hands of traffickers by closing other routes.

It also allows people who help asylum seekers arrive in the UK without any gain for themselves to be prosecuted. 6/9

So those who save people's lives could be criminalised.

Meanwhile Border Force officials whose actions could result in deaths at sea will be given immunity from prosecution. 7/9

This thread could go on and on.

The Bill is full of terrifying changes that will make the lives of refugees even harder.

It is completely inhumane. 8/9

So what can we do?

There aren’t enough opposition MPs to defeat this in a vote, but public pressure could force the government to U-turn.

That pressure has to be ramped up urgently. Write to your MP, organise demonstrations, voice your opposition.

Time is running out. 9/9