ANALYSIS: Asylum - Harsh law for asylum seekers
STEVE BEEBEE
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
As well as vilification from sections of the media in the light of recent terrorism scares, refugees now face an additional crisis when they arrive on these shores. Legislation that came into force on 8 January means that if they do not claim asylum at their first port of entry, they will be refused state benefits.
The aim of Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which will not apply retrospectively, is to counter those who seek to abuse the system. But charitable and youth work organisations have reacted with horror to the changes, citing a rise in homelessness and poverty as likely results.
Leigh Daynes of Refugee Action, the charity contracted by the Home Office to help find shelter for asylum seekers, believes that up to 700 people could be affected every week.
"For a vulnerable group of people, this seems an especially cruel ruling," he says. "The effects are already being felt. More asylum seekers are sleeping in bus shelters and on the streets. And because this puts them increasingly in the public gaze, more harassment will occur."
Hardest hit by legislation
It is anticipated that this group, likely to be especially disoriented and unprepared on arrival, will be hardest hit by the legislation. But refugee families with children and those with special needs will be exempt from the ruling.
But the Home Office does not believe the measures will make life any harder for refugees, and will simply catch those who abuse the system.
It says those seeking asylum need only cooperate with fair and simple rules.
A spokeswoman says: "They will receive the same level of support as they do already. The purpose of the legislation is not to cause further problems for these individuals, but to ensure it is they who get the support available, not those who are trying to misuse the system."
But several organisations point out that people arriving in the UK from war-torn countries are likely to be too disoriented to fulfil the criteria.
Millennium volunteer Donna Mastrullo worked on a project in Leicester and says there are enough difficulties surrounding asylum as it is.
"When some of them climb out of lorries, they're not even sure what country they're in, so they can hardly be expected to know the letter of the law," she says. "And many, of course, do not speak English, which further complicates matters for them."
Unaccompanied young people have previously been the responsibility of local authorities, until they reach the age of 18 when they face dispersion to other parts of the country. Under the latest ruling, those who have not applied for asylum immediately and cannot prove they are under 18 may find themselves ineligible for support.
The Home Office says human rights will be protected, and that a young person will not necessarily be deprived of support in those circumstances.
It says: "A young person may be referred to the Refugee Council Panel of Advisers, which will look more closely at their case, or to social services. Support will always be provided to ensure that human rights under international law are protected."
Legislation has also been passed saying that people whose asylum claims are clearly unfounded can be returned to a third safe country to appeal against a refusal of their claim. But this has not been the experience of those working in the field. They feel that the task of helping those refugees who end up without support will ultimately fall to them.
Shelter's Steve Ballinger defines the Government's attitude as "a culture of denial". He cites the case of a 16-year-old Iraqi girl who has been denied support under the Act because officials did not believe she was under 18.
"It's going to be an immense burden. The Government's claim that the rules are fair and simple is a nonsense - it's now us that are having to deal with this problem, and it shouldn't be happening at all."
REFUGEE INFORMATION
- While the number of under-18 refugees in the UK is unknown, there are an estimated 82,000 such children in schools. Of these, nearly 7,000 have arrived here without a parent or guardian.
- A Government information release on the measures can be found on the Immigration & Nationality Directorate web site http://194.203.40.90.