The Observer view: Change to UK citizenship rule is cruel and misjudged | Observer editorial

toAST Monday, the government quietly added some short lines to Guidance of the Ministry of Interior This leads to a major change in refugee policy. By amending the “good personality” guidelines for immigration employees who treat asylum applications, the ministers have effectively removed the right of refugees to apply for British citizenship if they reached the United Kingdom illegally or through a dangerous path, as is the case in a small boat or completed Store away in a truck.

This harsh change means that refugees who flee from conflict, torture and human rights violations, who have long been granted protection and the right to live and work in the United Kingdom, will not be able to become British citizens. There is no justification for that. Although the government said that the Minister of the Interior reserves the authority to grant citizenship On an exceptional basisThis is likely to be very unusual. Although the immigration specialists have the discretionary authority to ignore the illegal entry of the refugees who have arrived in the United Kingdom as children, there is no guarantee that this will happen, and given the high citizenship request fees, this procedure will even ensure that refugees are punished as adults for the way they arrive . Immigration lawyer Colin Yu said that these changes reach a Violation of the Refugee Conference 1951And that Britain was a founding.

It is a disturbing indication that there is more continuity between the policy of the punitive refugees of the labor government and its conservative predecessor, which had first appeared. He was one of the first actions of Care Starmer Conservative policies scrap This detained anyone who arrives in the United Kingdom through irregular means and prevented them from applying for asylum, with the intention of being deported by a small part to Rwanda, where their demands for asylum had been heard and may be granted by the Rwandan government. This effectively regained the rights of refugees to apply for asylum regardless of their means of access, in line with international law.

This last policy – which the deputies did not discuss before presenting – is a step in the opposite direction, which is supposed to be designed to make the government appear harsh for refugees by undermining international obligations to Britain. The government undoubtedly hopes that removing the right to search for citizenship in this way may prevent desperate people from trying to try the dangerous channel crossing. But in recent years The number of deaths in the channel It rose even when the ministers tried to make Britain a more hostile place for asylum seekers.

The truth is that in a world in which the conflict and restricted poverty work as strong payment factories to increase the irregular movement of people across the border, the number of people who cross the channel is largely out of government control. To the extent that it can affect these flows, the enforcement of the elimination of human trafficks who receive individuals must be thousands of pounds in dangerous trips accompanied by the creation of safe and legal methods that enable those who are in a fatal danger to apply for the United Kingdom and other safe countries.

For example, a mixture of BIDEN administration was followed by the restrictions imposed on entering the United States along its borders with Mexico, as well as entering a refugee care process in South America to legally enter the United States, The number of irregular expatriates decreased In 2024.

The government must also search for the public confidence in the asylum system that suffers from the delay, by redoubling its efforts to equip asylum applications quickly and efficiently, and to deport those whose applications have been rejected and who have no right to stay in the United Kingdom.

This intervention seems to prevent refugees from fully integrating into British society is a wrong political strategy to try to undermine the UK float into the polls. But there are serious political risks. A Multiple audience All refugees support the ability to apply for citizenship regardless of how they arrive in the United Kingdom; For those who voted for the Labor Party last year, it is 62 %. In an attempt to appeal to the voter reform, there is a risk of repelling the Labor Party who may decide the next time to vote on LIB Dem or Green.

In misleading the public by noting that reducing the number of people who reach the small boats to demand the resort to the gift of politicians, Starmer risk building more support for reform in the medium term if he cannot provide his pledge to “break gangs” and reduce the number of small boat crossings . It was better to have a honest conversation with the public about the fact that we live in an unstable world where the irregular movement of people will be likely to increase, and that reducing this requires a long -term strategy that only includes deterrence except strategies to reduce conflict, poverty and climate change, along with providing ways Safe and legally to the West. This would undoubtedly take courage and leadership. However, in the end, it is correct in terms of moral and political wisdom to do.