Following the deaths of 27 people in the Channel last week, Finchley and Golders Green residents have written to their local MP to request a meeting about refugee rights at the border. 

The letter condemns the proposed nationality and borders bill, due for return to parliamentary vote next week, saying the “tragic loss of 27 people” is a “wake-up call regarding the harm this bill can do”.

The nationality and border bill brings into law the government’s new immigration plan which has already received criticism from organisations like UNHCR. The bill proposes making it inadmissible for anyone arriving by illegal routes to claim asylum. Meaning that people crossing the channel in small boats would not only be ineligible to claim asylum but would also be criminalised. In recent years, civil society movements on both sides of the Channel, have endeavoured to help those making dangerous crossings. These volunteers, hoping to save asylum seekers lives, would also be criminalised under the new legislation.

The letter states “refugees and asylum seekers have always contributed to British society” and the bill “fails to safeguard the rights of those who are seeking sanctuary and criminalises them for taking perilous journeys for reasons outside their control.” 

It continues that “​​the Bill distorts the definition of the word ‘refugee’ so that it no longer meets the standards of international law” and “the proposal of “an expedited process for claims and appeals made from detention” completely undermines the rights of asylum seekers to access the justice system…remov[ing] the right of appeal entirely…[and] lead[ing] to the denial of asylum and sanctuary…”.

Finchley based human rights group René Cassin has initiated the campaign managing to secure signatures from faith leaders and local residents “from the variety of backgrounds and faiths” including those who are “the children and grandchildren of refugees”.

Debora Singer, Finchley resident and René Cassin campaigner said:

“Human life is sacred, and …everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. The UK has previously displayed this conviction, as an early and trailblazing signatory to the Refugee Convention.

“However, the proposed changes to immigration and asylum process undermine this belief, by preventing people from accessing the support they need and criminalising them for taking dangerous routes without creating safe alternatives. 

 “The unthinkable and tragic loss of 27 people in the Channel trying to reach safety last week must be a wake-up call regarding the harm this bill can do, and we have expressed a desire to meet with our local MP Mike Freer, to raise this in Parliament.”

Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer previously voted in favour of the bill in July. Freer did not respond to our request for comment on the issue.