QARN in good company …
4 March 2025: The Tablet: Charities and faith leaders urge reversal of refugee citizenship ban
Organised by the Refugee Council, the letter to the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, received 149 signatories from across the refugee, migrant and childrenâs sectors, including Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network and Islamic Relief UK.
Nearly 150 charities and faith leaders have challenged new government rules which effectively ban tens of thousands of refugees from ever becoming British citizens. This change affects applications for British citizenship submitted on or after 10 February this year by people who arrived in the UK by irregular routes.
It means that anyone who has entered the UK via a small boat, or by means such as hiding in a vehicle, will normally be refused citizenship, regardless of the time that has passed.
The letter of 16 February highlighted that âover generations, refugees who had to risk their lives because there wasnât a safe way to reach the UK have become proud British citizens in many professions including as doctors, entrepreneurs and also politicians representing their communitiesâ.
It said citizenship is not just a legal status, and âwhen refugees become citizens, they feel a greater sense of belonging as full members of their communities with a stable future for themselves, their children and generations to comeâ.
Signatories feared the new rules would âbreed division and distrustâ. They urged the government to reverse the change âand instead work with us and others up and down the country to celebrate the countryâs heritage of welcoming refugees and focus on the importance of a shared community that delivers for allâ.
Organised by the Refugee Council, the letter to the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, received 149 signatories from across the refugee, migrant and childrenâs sectors, including Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network and Islamic Relief UK.
Also, faith leaders, including rabbis and eight bishops in the House of Lords, such as the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the president and the vice-president of the Methodist Conference and the general secretary of the Baptist Union. Catholic signatories included Patrick OâDowd of Caritas Salford, Ben Gilchrist of Caritas Shrewsbury, Abigail Martin of St Chadâs Sanctuary and Dr Vincent Manning of Catholics for Aids Prevention and Support.