Families Together coalition deeply concerned about the harmful impact of new legislation
April 28, 2022
The Families Together Coalition is bitterly disappointed that the Government’s harmful Nationality and Borders Bill has received royal assent to become law.
We remain deeply concerned about the impact this Act will have on the thousands of women and children who would have had access to a safe and regular route to join loved ones in the UK, but who will now find that route closed.
Refugees will face a horrendous choice: to endure indefinite separation from the people they love most in the whole world, or to risk a dangerous journey in the hope of being reunited. It’s a choice that none of us would ever want to be faced with.
The Government says that it wants to help those in need, but it is pushing women and children to take desperate action to see their husbands and their fathers again. When Australia introduced similar restrictions on family reunion, they found that the number of women and children arriving in Australia by boat increased.
Thank you to all of our coalition members, and members of the public, who have campaigned for refugee rights throughout the passage of the Bill. The Families Together coalition remains firm in the belief that every refugee should have access to full family reunion rights, regardless of how they arrived in the UK.
Far from giving up, we’ll be working to minimise the impact of the Act, document the harms that it produces, and make our call for family reunion louder and stronger than ever.
We’re a coalition of more than 90 organisations, and we know every one of us will work harder than ever to bring refugee families together again.