Several Labor-majority councils – including Liverpool and Edinburgh – have decided to boycott plans by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to house migrants pending asylum on barges in ports.
The first barge, with a capacity for 500 “residents”, arrived this week at the port of Portland, in Dorset, in the south of England, and was received by two demonstrations against it: one criticizing the “racism” of the Government against refugees and another denouncing the impact it can have on the coastal population of 14,000 inhabitants.
Even so, the Department of the Interior has announced its intention to accommodate the first 50 immigrants on the barge starting next week, despite the announcement of new protests and the condemnation of the “inhumane policy” of the Government by the Labor mayor, Carralyn Parkes.
The first barge is currently anchored in the port of Portland awaiting news, while King Charles gave “royal assent” to the new Illegal Immigration Act after overcoming the last hurdle this week in the House of Lords. The law has been strongly criticized by the UN for denying the right of asylum to those who arrive in the UK illegally, regardless of their origin or situation.
“There is nothing wrong with putting migrants on boats and the government should continue to look for ports to accommodate them,” said Conservative MP Adam Holloway. “We’re never going to solve this problem if we don’t get the message across: whoever comes here illegally won’t be able to stay.”
It is estimated that a total of 45,755 immigrants arrived last year by boat through the English Channel and more than 9,000 have completed the crossing so far this year. Most of them reside in more than 400 hotels with an approximate cost of 130 euros a night, and 50 euros a week for food and maintenance. The detractors of the barges allege that the savings are minimal (115 euros per head) and that the immigrants will be subjected to an almost prison regime, with curfews at eleven at night.
Rishi Sunak is meanwhile fighting a court battle over his plan to deport asylum-seeking migrants to Rwanda. Government sources have admitted that the plan may remain in the dry dock until at least the beginning of 2024, which will create an additional problem in the coming months.
“Thousands of immigrants may be left in limbo because their right to asylum will not be recognized nor will they have a place where they can be housed,” denounced Enver Solomon, head of the NGO Refugee Council. “The new immigration law is unworkable and immoral, will cause human misery to many people, and will come at a high cost to taxpayers.”
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