Refugee Action Profile picture
Apr 27, 2023 13 tweets 4 min read Read on X
COSTILITY: the cost of hostility. The public money wasted by governments on being hostile to refugees and people seeking asylum.

Billions of pounds is being thrown away on deterrents that both don't work and are indefensibly cruel.

We call this costility. 🧵...
The biggest cost of hostile policies is the damage done to people seeking safety, but the cost in terms of the public money wasted is huge as well.

Here are some examples of costility and why it's such a terrible approach. Definition of the term 'cos...
Every year, the government makes available a personal tax summary showing what your tax contributions were spent on.

We’ve made our own version for costility. Here are some of the ways that the government is choosing to waste your money on punishing refugees. The cost of hostile policie...
That's £6.83 billion that could be spent on schools and hospitals.

Costility means billions redirected from anything constructive to punishing people who ask for the UK’s help.
You can read about costility and what this wasted money is spent on in more detail on our website.

refugee-action.org.uk/costility/
Don’t get us wrong, cruelty would not be ok if it came cheaper. Nor would trying to deter refugees be morally acceptable if it were easier.

But costility, the prevailing approach for decades, is the worst of all worlds. Ineffective, immoral and expensive – it combines all three!
The costly deterrents fail, and refugees are forced into danger when they travel and abuse when they arrive. Then the public foots the bill…

…EVERYBODY LOSES.
But money invested in welcoming and supporting refugees is well spent.

Safe routes, appropriate support and funding for communities that welcome refugees - this approach would safe lives and enrich British society…

…EVERYBODY WINS.
While costility is as bad as it gets in terms of an overall approach, there’s always scope within it to spend even more and punish refugees even more severely.

That’s exactly what the government is planning to do with the #RefugeeBanBill.
We laid out above the cost of detention that the ‘lock them all up’ measures in this Bill involve for one year (£2.8 billion).

But these costs are estimated by @refugeecouncil to rise to between £8.7 billion and £9.6 billion three years after the legislation comes into force.
Most of these costs are publicly available, others are disputed by the Home Office. But the government refuses to publish its own estimates of what its new plans for the mass detention of refugees will cost.
This refusal speaks volumes. The government fears that the public will see what a colossal rip off costility is. And eventually, the public will.
When they do, it’s important that people also see that there is another way.

This is our vision for the asylum system, based on the four key principles of anti-racism, equality, accountability, and welcome.

refugee-action.org.uk/our-vision/ twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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More from @RefugeeAction

Oct 11, 2023
💥REFUGEE ACTION'S MOST WANTED💥

Did you know that the UK asylum system is run for profit?

We're revealing our Most Wanted, the companies profiting from refugees' misery.

Thread below👇
Refugee Action's Most Wanted are:

Clearsprings, Mears, Serco and Corporate Travel Management (CTM).

These companies are paid billions in public money to run the cruel system that the government has devised. A line up of businessmen holding signs with the Clearsprings, Mears, Serco and Corporate Travel Management logos on them. The text reads 'Refugee Action's Most Wanted... for profiting from refugees' misery'.
CLEARSPRINGS READY HOMES

Clearsprings boosted its profits from £4,419,841 to £28,012,487 during the year ending 31 January 2022.

Clearsprings runs Napier, an ex-military barracks being used to house refugees in conditions described as “squalid” by lawyers of the residents. Refugee Action's Most Wanted. Clearsprings Ready Homes... for profiting from refugees' misery.
Read 7 tweets
May 31, 2023
We spoke to @NationalWorld about what we think a compassionate, accessible and workable asylum system could look like – and why an approach based on hostility and deterrence is cruel, costly, and won’t stop refugees risking their lives to reach the UK to claim asylum. Image
Our policy and research manager @_tarapovey told @ImogenHowse that a compassionate system is one where people are believed, welcomed, and treated with dignity - and are able to start rebuilding their lives.

#StandUpForAsylum
An accessible system is one where people can claim asylum without putting their lives at risk by crossing the Channel. It is completely legal to come to the UK to seek asylum so we have a moral and lawful duty to make it possible.

nationalworld.com/news/uk/immigr…
Read 4 tweets
Nov 17, 2022
Giving people seeking asylum the right to work is worth £300 million a year to the Treasury.

So today we're asking: Jeremy Hunt, do you want this cheque?

#LiftTheBan #AutumnStatement
Here's how we reached the figure of £300 million. 🧮

It's based on national insurance and income tax contributions if half of the 69,593 working-age people waiting more than six months for a decision on their asylum claim found work.
Once able to support themselves, people would no longer need asylum support payments from the government.

So we added that saving onto the final amount as well. The grand total was £308,472,107.
Read 9 tweets
Mar 13, 2022
After weeks of dither and delay the Gov's plan to protect people fleeing the war in Ukraine fails to match the need of the moment and the compassion of the public.

In fact, it's a massive downgrade from the UK’s previous support for refugees – and may even put them at risk.🧵
Community sponsorship is an important part of any protection system and a great way for people to show their support – but it can only ever be a drop in the ocean of what's needed.

Current sponsorship schemes take 150 refugees a year in total. 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled.
Ukrainians arriving through this scheme won't be given refugee status, falling short of the protection guarantee they should expect.

This also limits access to benefits which could be essential if they have difficulties with their sponsor.
Read 10 tweets
Mar 11, 2022
This clause allows refugees to be treated differently just because of how they travelled to the UK.

Regardless of their need for safety, some refugees will only be given temporary protection and fewer rights than others. Clause 11: Creating a secon...
As a result, anyone claiming asylum who has had to pass through another country (I.e. the MAJORITY) will be discriminated against after they are granted refugee status. This means that: - Refugees...
They will have no chance of securing right to settlement for at least ten years. Worse still, the UK will repeatedly review their case in the hope of deporting them elsewhere.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 7, 2021
Are you finding it politically unrewarding to run an asylum system that keeps people safe? It’s hard! We’ve got the solution for the ambitious politician... BÖRDER KRISÍS!

Build it yourself and see how useful it can be to justify things like an #AntiRefugeeBill. Instructions⬇️ A cartoon figure wearing a ...
Here’s what you’ll need to get started on your BÖRDER KRISÍS. A cartoon figure wearing a ...
You need a big frame for your BÖRDER KRISÍS. Don’t worry that your frame doesn’t fit the facts, the rest of the steps will show you how to make it look like the facts fit your frame.

Remember, when you’re building a BÖRDER KRISÍS – appearances are everything. A cartoon figure wearing a ...
Read 15 tweets

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