"Monday's bombshell was an announcement from the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, about the suspension of refugee family reunion until next spring. Until now, for families who have been through hell due to war and conflict in their home country, the prospect of finally being reunited in a safe country after one member has been granted refugee status has kept them going. That hope has been snatched away, as the government officially stopped taking applications for the programme on Thursday at 3pm."
"Appeals (often against flawed initial government decisions on asylum claims) will now be handled by people with less expertise than the highly qualified judges who currently hear these cases. Trained members of the public no further details provided will make these life and death decisions. Asylum accommodation is a Premier League-level political football. Warehouses are being considered, the home secretary declared, when asked for the millionth time why asylum seekers are still luxuriating at taxpayers' expense in hotels."
Refugee family reunion has been suspended until next spring, removing a critical hope for families separated by war and conflict and stopping applications at 3pm on Thursday. Appeals against initial asylum decisions will be transferred from highly qualified judges to trained members of the public with less expertise, creating riskier life-and-death determinations. The government is considering using warehouses for asylum accommodation while continuing to house asylum seekers in hotels. Threatening messages were sent to 130,000 overseas students without acknowledging that students from war zones cannot currently be returned. Renewed proposals for ID cards and intensified workplace raids accompany these measures, despite existing online employer checks and concerns about exploitation of illegal workers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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