Seeking asylum in UK

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday, the 28th of June, 2022.

You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we are happy you’ve joined us today. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up on The World and Everything in It: the war in Ukraine.

It has displaced more than 4 million people. That brings the current total of displaced persons worldwide to 100 million. That figure, according to the UN.

REICHARD: That’s equivalent to about a third of the entire U.S. population. And all of those people need to go somewhere — whether that’s within their own country or to a country where they think they can get what they need.

That’s putting a lot of pressure on the countries receiving them. Correspondent Amy Lewis has our story.

AUDIO: [PLANE ON TARMAC]

AMY LEWIS, REPORTER: On the evening of June 14th, a Boeing 767 sat on the runway at Britain’s Boscombe Down Air Base. Inside the plane were seven asylum seekers being transferred to Rwanda. At least one man was from Iraq. Minutes before the flight’s scheduled take-off, the European Court of Human Rights made a last-minute decision that removed all seven men from the plane, canceling the deportation.

The UK’s Home Office Secretary of State Priti Patel states that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is one way to curb the thousands of people coming to the UK across the English Channel. That would in turn prevent smugglers from benefiting financially. She says it will also preserve lives by keeping asylum seekers from making the journey in the first place. In November, 27 people died when their boat capsized in the Channel.

The UK’s new policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda has drawn sharp criticism from both inside and outside the country. But it’s not unlike what other countries have done.

Matthew Soerens is US Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief.

SOERENS: Because it’s not that different than what Australia’s done, it’s not that different, frankly, than what the whole of the European Union has done in a deal with Turkey. It’s not that different than what the US has done with Mexico at different points, which is we want to have laws that say we offer protection to those fleeing persecution. And yet we want limits on how many people can avail themselves to that protection.

The UK, US and Australia were among 145 nations that signed the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees. The treaty was drafted in the wake of World War II after Jewish people were refused refuge outside of Germany and then died in the Holocaust.

SOERENS: And after that experience was where a number of countries around the world came together and acknowledged that was a grave error, a moral failing, and we won’t do that again.

The Geneva Convention offers hope to those suffering persecution. Hanne Beirens is the Director of Europe’s Refugee Migration Policy Institute in Brussels.

BEIRENS: All of us across the globe have this image now. If anything happens to me, I will be able to leave the country, cross the border, and hopefully find safety somewhere else. That very basic principle is taken away if you said  you cannot spontaneously flee anymore.

World Relief’s Soerens says that what constitutes a viable reason for asylum may not be well understood.

SOERENS: But what’s true in the US at least is that people have generally heard that we’re a country that offers protection and refuge to those fleeing bad circumstances. Now that’s not exactly precisely what our laws say.

Those laws are designed to balance border security and immigration enforcement with the requirements of the Geneva Convention.

SOERENS: People are almost always fleeing a really bad situation. They don’t make this terrible journey if they’re not. But whether they actually qualify for asylum under the terms of the specific laws of the country is not always very clear.

People are often pulled to a particular country for safety or family connections or opportunities. When a receiving country focuses primarily on deterring people from coming to their country, it often neglects the pushing force of why people flee in the first place. Ignoring the push factors, Beirens says, may exacerbate the situation they are trying to prevent.

BEIRENS: People flee because of a reason. And unless we also address that, we will keep pushing people to reach out to more kind of underground activities. And then those who are hoping also to make money on the back of the vulnerability of others…

There is no easy solution. But World Relief’s Soerens says things can be improved.

SOERENS: One of the most obvious things that would improve the situation is not to say everybody in nor to say nobody in, but to say how do we have a fair and efficient processing of individuals who are professing a claim of persecution.

Soerens says having an inefficient system can be a pull factor, actually drawing people to that country. For example, at least 50,000 people wait at the US-Mexico border while their asylum claims are being processed.

SOERENS: If you are allowed in, it might take 4 to 5 years on average to get a final ruling on your case from an immigration judge. It also can create an incentive for someone with a marginal case to come and, you know, sort of try their luck and see if they can win asylum. Because they might end up for 4 years in the United States with the ability to work.

While the UK and other countries figure out how to reconcile control of their borders with honoring their signatures on the 1951 Geneva Convention, Soerens points out that the church’s response toward those who are already in the country remains the same.

SOERENS: At least in the US context, there’s nothing in our laws that would prevent us from showing kindness to people, regardless of if we think we know their legal situation, which we probably don’t by looking at them. Nothing that would prevent us from helping people to learn English or sharing the Gospel with them, or, you know, inviting them into our church communities and just being a warm welcoming presence.

The UK-Rwanda deal has so far withstood legal challenges in Britain’s own courts. A full trial to determine its legality is set for next month.

Rwanda is already home to about 120,000 displaced people. The capital of Kigali has been preparing housing and infrastructure for the UK arrivals. The deal would provide support to asylum seekers for up to five years while in Rwanda. It would also economically assist one of the world’s poorest countries.

The last-minute judgment by the European Court on Human Rights provided a few weeks of reprieve for the asylum seekers on the plane. Their ultimate destination could still be Rwanda. The day after the failed flight, Priti Patel addressed the House of Commons.

PATEL: We remain committed to this policy. We believe we are fully compliant with our domestic and international obligations, and preparations for the next flights have already begun.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Amy Lewis.

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