Liberty responds to Government’s Illegal Migration Bill

Responding to the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill, a Liberty spokesperson said:

“We all deserve the chance to live safe, dignified and fulfilling lives. But this desperately cruel Bill from the government flies in the face of international human rights principles and will tear families and communities apart.

“This Bill will effectively allow the Government to commit human rights abuses without consequences. Excluding refugees and migrants from the protection of the Human Rights Act is abhorrent and wrong. Human rights are universal and it’s not up to the Government to pick and choose who does and doesn’t deserve them.

“Removing the right to appeal asylum decisions is a shocking attack on the rule of law. Our laws guarantee our right to due process and to get justice when our rights are violated – no matter who we are or where we are from.

“The real crisis is that families’ and children’s lives will be devastated because the Government refuses to respect people’s human rights. Let’s be clear: while the Government’s plans will harm refugees and migrants the most, this is an attack on all of us and the values we hold dear. What we need is greater human rights protections – not fewer.”