The SNP and Scottish Greens have hit out at the UK Government's plans to prevent small boats from crossing the English Channel. The UK Government is expected to set out plans on Tuesday which will not allow those who travel to the UK on small boats to make asylum claims.
The migrants would be moved to a third country and banned from returning or claiming citizenship. The Government has released few details about how the policy would work. Previous efforts to restrict the number of people crossing the Channel have faced legal challenges. These include the plans to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
SNP Justice and Immigration spokesperson Stuart McDonald said that the plans "will achieve nothing except extra pain and misery to families".
He said: "From the outset, the UK Government's approach to asylum seekers has been inhumane and cruel. Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman's proposals will trash the Refugee Convention and the Human Right's Convention, as well as the Modern Slavery Act protections for victims of trafficking.
"The UK Government must realise their plans will achieve nothing except extra pain and misery to families fleeing war-torn countries, or places where they face persecution. It is vital that Scotland secures its independence so that we can have a humane asylum system in Scotland - one that offers refugees protection, security and dignity from the moment they arrive here.”
The UK Government’s expected crackdown on the rights of people seeking asylum are racist and an attempt to distract from their numerous failings, say the Scottish Greens. Scottish Greens human rights and justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman said that the policy was "racist" and "immoral".
Chapman said: “The Home Office’s latest proposals amount to a full scale attack on the rights of refugees and would criminalise some of the most vulnerable communities in the world simply for seeking refuge. Asylum is one of the most fundamental human rights we have. Many of the people who this racist policy will impact have escaped war, torture and persecution.
“The policy itself is as immoral as it is unworkable, and any attempts to implement it would make life even harder for tens of thousands of people who have been forced to seek sanctuary. We didn’t get here overnight. It took years of repressive, authoritarian and racist Home Office policies from successive Conservative and Labour governments.
“They can see the damage that they are inflicting and they know the catastrophic impact it will have for people, but the racism and the cruelty are the point. It is a transparent attempt to scapegoat, demonise and ultimately distract from the numerous failures of this disastrous government.
“With independence we can finally introduce a humane and progressive migration policy that recognises the suffering people have ensured and offers support and solidarity. In the meantime, safe avenues to asylum must be made available and people seeking asylum who are here must be treated fairly and with the dignity they deserve.”
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