Thread: Despite the slightly misleading headline, asylum seekers are often seeking safety, shockingly, and don't have a specific destination in mind. For some, not all, countries like France aren't safe so they have to keep moving. 1/
thetimes.co.uk/article/88dc2f…
Having already fled unimaginable horror, asylum seekers can spend years seeking safety. A safety now being placed at risk by the government's #NewPlanforImmigration. A plan which also violates their right under international law not to be penalised for their manner of entry. 2/
There's no such thing as "first safe country". Never has been in international law. It just doesn't exist. It's a phrase used to by politicians and pundits to avoid meeting obligations under international refugee law, and basic humanity. 3/
Not only would Patel's plan be potentially illegal though, it is also unworkable and will be extraordinarily expensive. You cannot just send someone to a country which won't accept them. So the reality is that the government will have to keep asylum seekers in limbo. 4/
UK already spends £392 million on immigration enforcement. It costs about £95 per day per asylum seeker to keep them in a detention center, and about £13,354 per person for deportations. Costs which will only increase as people are detained for longer. 5/ migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/brie…
It's a never ending irony that the costs of denying asylum exceed the cost of providing it, for example asylum seekers are denied social housing and have to survive on about £39.63 per week, less than half the amount it costs to detain them for a day. 6/
gov.uk/asylum-support…
There are no upsides to @pritipatel's #NewPlanforImmigration. It's been condemned by likes of UNHCR for risking violating international law. It's unworkable. It's inhumane. It's expensive, money which could be used benefiting people in need here. There are zero benefits to it. 7/

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More from @stand_for_all

20 Jun
Thread: It is #WorldRefugeeDay and the end of #RefugeeWeek2021 today, so seems like a good time to break down some myths about refugees and asylum seekers, particularly in the UK but also globally, regarding how they may or may not enter a country. 1/
There are roughly 82.4 million people displaced in the world at the moment. Most of them (about 48 millions) are trapped within their countries of displacement. They are known as "internally displaced persons" (IDPs) and routinely denied support. 2/
If they are "lucky" enough to be able to cross an international border they may be classed as refugees. 86% of the world's 20.7 million refugees live in developing countries. 73% live in countries neighbouring those that they fled. 3/
Read 16 tweets
18 Jun
It's #AutisticPrideDay and, you know what, I am proud. I wasn't. It took me years to be proud. It took me years to realise it is part of me. It took me years to realise it makes me better at what I do when I acknowledge it. I wasn't always proud to be autistic. I am now though 1/
Twitter helped with that. I have met and seen so many people on here who helped me realise that being autistic isn't something I need to feel "ashamed of" or "hide from". I can't possibly list all of them here, but to all those who have helped, thank you. 2/
Being #ActuallyAutistic means navigating a world not designed for you. It can be hard. It means being stereotyped. It means being simultaneously dismissed as unable to do things, while it is also assumed you must have some savant superpower. 3/
Read 10 tweets
15 Jun
Thread: As the @ukhomeoffice has taken it upon itself to hijack the #RefugeeWeek hashtag, it's important to remember that not only do resettlement places globally account for a tiny fraction of refugees, it is also not illegal to seek asylum. 1/
Patel is attempting to make a distinction between those who use resettlement routes and those who seek asylum by other means. There is no such distinction under international law though. A refugee is permitted to enter a country via any means necessary without being penalised. 2/
Patel's #NewPlanForImmigration sets in place penalties though. It automatically creates a two tier system, a system which directly contravenes international refugee law to which the UK is a signatory. It also ignores the myriad of reasons someone may become a refugee. 3/
Read 23 tweets
14 Jun
Thread: I regret to inform you that the Home Office is at it again, spreading misleading, and at times just plain false information, while also using refugees as cover to penalise vulnerable asylum seekers. 1/
Straight off the bat, this is blatantly false. There are a multitude of ways that an asylum seeker can, legally under international law, enter the UK on their own in order to apply for asylum. Ways which the government is looking to penalise them for. 2/
No-one is against the prosecution of smugglers or traffickers. They abuse and exploit asylum seekers, but they aren't the only ones being prosecuted and included in these figures. The asylum seekers themselves are, and that doesn't stop the gangs. 3/
Read 11 tweets
5 Jun
Numbers of asylum seekers are down on previous years. They are at their lowest levels since 2014. That seems like kind of an important point to flag #r4today rather than making out that suddenly the Home Office is overwhelmed.
IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO CROSS THE CHANNEL OR SEEK ASYLUM. It is illegal to penalize an asylum seeker for their manner of entry. #r4today
"Official" resettlement routes account for about 4% of asylum seekers globally. Last year the UK offered about 350 places on its resettlement routes. With other routes closed of course there is going to be an increase in channel crossings.
Read 7 tweets
4 Jun
THREAD: With growing cross-party support to ensure that the #foreignaid budget is reinstated to 0.7% of GDP it's worth acknowledging that, particularly now, there are reasons people may oppose it, and equally important reasons for funding it. 1/
The reality is that the majority of voters support cutting foreign aid, and it's not hard to see why. The UK has one of the highest levels of income inequality out of OECD countries. About 15 million people in poverty etc. 2/
The whole "trade not aid" and "charity begin at home" arguments cut through. Of course they do. If you are struggling to buy food then why would you support the government sending money abroad to help other countries? 3/
Read 23 tweets

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