In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 720 faith leaders warned that restrictions on family reunion will push desperate people towards the smuggling gangs the Government is trying to dismantle
Hundreds of faith leaders have called on Shabana Mahmood to shelve plans they warn risk tearing families apart.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, 720 bishops, rabbis, ministers and rabbis say restrictions on family reunion rules will “push desperate people toward the very smuggling networks we all wish to dismantle”. They called on Ms Mahmood to rethink plans to end the automatic right of reunion for settled refugees.
Doing so, they argue, would be at odds with British values and every major faith tradition. The Home Office has suspended the right for newly recognised refugees to bring their families – a move critics said would result in more women and children making dangerous small boats instead. And Ms Mahmood has said rules will be tightened.
Rev Lord Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “There ought to be no debate about the scandal of leaving unaccompanied children to fend for themselves in situations of great risk. Not for the first time, we are being challenged as to whether we as a society really believe in the right of children to be nurtured and protected, at a time when casualties among children are seemingly taken so much for granted in war across the globe.”
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The letter, coordinated by the Joint Public Issues Team of the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches, said having family nearby and knowing they are safe is essential for wellbeing and integration. It goes on: “For people of faith, family is foundational to human belonging, resilience, and hope. To further restrict safe routes for family reunion is to push desperate people toward the very smuggling networks we all wish to dismantle.”
The suspension of family reunions was brought in last year by former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Her successor, Ms Mahmood, has announced a raft of measures to clamp down on illegal migration, including making refugee status temporary.
The Labour frontbencher warned that failure to get a grip on the asylum system would open the door to right wing populists to destroy it. And she said her measures will make the rules fairer.
In an update to MPs this month she said: “Family reunion remains paused while new rules are designed that bring financial and integration requirements in line with those expected of British citizens.”
Rabbi David Mason said: “There is nothing fair or compassionate about keeping families divided. The Jewish community understands this well: the Kindertransport (which saved children from the Nazis) saved thousands of lives, but it also left many children separated from their families.
“We need to learn the lessons of that lasting pain. At a time of deepening division, the Government must bring humanity and responsibility back into refugee policy. Reinstating family reunion rights would be a vital step and make a huge difference to people rebuilding their lives here.”
Jo Cobley, chief executive at charity Safe Passage International, said: “Abandoning children and families, who have already been torn apart by the chaos of war and persecution, to a life of separation is chilling. Every day, we see the devastating impact separation has on children and the people who care for them most, and we also see the precious moments when mums and dads can finally hug their children again after years without each other.”
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