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| End of family reunion rule would mean more Channel crossings, say charities | End of family reunion rule would mean more Channel crossings, say charities |
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| UK urged to agree deal to replace EU’s Dublin regulation before Brexit transition period ends | UK urged to agree deal to replace EU’s Dublin regulation before Brexit transition period ends |
| People will continue to risk their lives crossing the Channel in small boats if the UK government does not strike an adequate family reunion deal before the Brexit transition period ends, humanitarian charities and leaders have warned. | People will continue to risk their lives crossing the Channel in small boats if the UK government does not strike an adequate family reunion deal before the Brexit transition period ends, humanitarian charities and leaders have warned. |
| EU legislation known as the Dublin regulation determines the member state responsible for handling an asylum application, with family unity being a primary consideration. | EU legislation known as the Dublin regulation determines the member state responsible for handling an asylum application, with family unity being a primary consideration. |
| Since 2015, 3,079 people have been transferred to the UK under the Dublin regulation, including 714 transfers in 2019, to be reunited with their families as they claim asylum. | Since 2015, 3,079 people have been transferred to the UK under the Dublin regulation, including 714 transfers in 2019, to be reunited with their families as they claim asylum. |
| When the transition period ends on 31 December, so will the UK’s obligations under the Dublin regulation. | When the transition period ends on 31 December, so will the UK’s obligations under the Dublin regulation. |
| Safe Passage International, which helps unaccompanied child refugees access Dublin family reunions, said the closure of this route would force more children into lorries and dinghies. | Safe Passage International, which helps unaccompanied child refugees access Dublin family reunions, said the closure of this route would force more children into lorries and dinghies. |
| Jennine Walker, head of UK Legal at Safe Passage International, said: “The government says it wants to reduce the numbers of people crossing the Channel, but if children and separated families cannot access family reunion, they are going to have no choice but risk their lives. | Jennine Walker, head of UK Legal at Safe Passage International, said: “The government says it wants to reduce the numbers of people crossing the Channel, but if children and separated families cannot access family reunion, they are going to have no choice but risk their lives. |
| “It is disgraceful that the government is closing a legal route that has protected people from smugglers and traffickers by giving them a safe way to reach their relatives and start rebuilding their lives. Unless the government agrees a family reunion replacement that is at least as good as Dublin, smugglers and trafficking gangs will have a field day when the transition period ends.” | “It is disgraceful that the government is closing a legal route that has protected people from smugglers and traffickers by giving them a safe way to reach their relatives and start rebuilding their lives. Unless the government agrees a family reunion replacement that is at least as good as Dublin, smugglers and trafficking gangs will have a field day when the transition period ends.” |
| The number of people crossing the Dover Strait in small boats this year is already more than double the total in 2019. | The number of people crossing the Dover Strait in small boats this year is already more than double the total in 2019. |
| The crossings have been met with a hardline approach from the government, which has pledged to work with France to make the route unviable. Ministers have said a “comprehensive plan” is being worked on “at pace”, but little detail has been offered. | The crossings have been met with a hardline approach from the government, which has pledged to work with France to make the route unviable. Ministers have said a “comprehensive plan” is being worked on “at pace”, but little detail has been offered. |
| Groups such as Safe Passage and the UN refugee agency UNHCR have argued that the best way to reduce the number of people risking their lives is to offer safe and legal routes to the UK to claim asylum, such as the Dublin regulation. | Groups such as Safe Passage and the UN refugee agency UNHCR have argued that the best way to reduce the number of people risking their lives is to offer safe and legal routes to the UK to claim asylum, such as the Dublin regulation. |
| In May the government published a draft Brexit proposal to replace family reunion, but lawyers have described the text as a “blank cheque to people smugglers” that strips people of their family reunion rights and makes the system entirely discretionary. | In May the government published a draft Brexit proposal to replace family reunion, but lawyers have described the text as a “blank cheque to people smugglers” that strips people of their family reunion rights and makes the system entirely discretionary. |
| In June a cross-party group of MPs tried to table an amendment to an immigration bill to protect current family reunion rules, but the government voted it down. | In June a cross-party group of MPs tried to table an amendment to an immigration bill to protect current family reunion rules, but the government voted it down. |
| Campaigners hope the government will be defeated when the bill returns to the Lords this September, with Alf Dubs leading efforts to rally peers in support of family reunion with a fresh amendment. | Campaigners hope the government will be defeated when the bill returns to the Lords this September, with Alf Dubs leading efforts to rally peers in support of family reunion with a fresh amendment. |
| Lord Dubs, a former child refugee whose tireless campaigning led to the introduction of the Dubs scheme, which facilitated the transfer of unaccompanied children to the UK, said: “We must not forget that children trying to reach the UK have fled war and persecution and tragically many continue to experience unimaginable dangers one they reach Europe. | Lord Dubs, a former child refugee whose tireless campaigning led to the introduction of the Dubs scheme, which facilitated the transfer of unaccompanied children to the UK, said: “We must not forget that children trying to reach the UK have fled war and persecution and tragically many continue to experience unimaginable dangers one they reach Europe. |
| “The government’s draft Brexit text is completely inadequate and there are no guarantees the EU will even agree a family reunion deal. To avoid a disaster scenario that would see more children getting in dinghies to reach their relatives, I have tabled an amendment that will protect family reunion in UK legislation. I urge peers of all parties to stand up for child refugees and support this amendment.” | “The government’s draft Brexit text is completely inadequate and there are no guarantees the EU will even agree a family reunion deal. To avoid a disaster scenario that would see more children getting in dinghies to reach their relatives, I have tabled an amendment that will protect family reunion in UK legislation. I urge peers of all parties to stand up for child refugees and support this amendment.” |
| The amendment would reinstate a requirement on the government to give a legal route to the UK for child refugees who do not have family here. Only 480 children have been able to access a safe route through the Dubs scheme, just a fraction of the thousands who have arrived in Europe and continue to languish in camps in Calais and Greece. | The amendment would reinstate a requirement on the government to give a legal route to the UK for child refugees who do not have family here. Only 480 children have been able to access a safe route through the Dubs scheme, just a fraction of the thousands who have arrived in Europe and continue to languish in camps in Calais and Greece. |
| Laura Padoan, a spokesperson for UNHCR said: “Refugees risk their lives on dangerous journeys when legal routes like family reunion and resettlement are limited. Our research shows that children are especially at risk of turning to smugglers when there are delays in reunifying with their families. | Laura Padoan, a spokesperson for UNHCR said: “Refugees risk their lives on dangerous journeys when legal routes like family reunion and resettlement are limited. Our research shows that children are especially at risk of turning to smugglers when there are delays in reunifying with their families. |
| “After the Brexit transition period, we hope that mechanisms will be in place to allow refugees in Europe with family in the UK to transfer here safely and legally. But more also needs to be done to make the immigration rules in the UK less restrictive and burdensome so that refugees can reunite more easily with their family members who aren’t in Europe.” | “After the Brexit transition period, we hope that mechanisms will be in place to allow refugees in Europe with family in the UK to transfer here safely and legally. But more also needs to be done to make the immigration rules in the UK less restrictive and burdensome so that refugees can reunite more easily with their family members who aren’t in Europe.” |
| Vickie Hawkins, executive director at Médecins Sans Frontières UK, said: “It is deeply hypocritical for the government to attack people for using unsafe routes to the UK, while simultaneously shutting down the few safe, legal routes for seeking sanctuary which exist. | |
| “Ministers have blocked Parliament’s attempts to maintain safe routes to the UK for children currently trapped in appalling conditions on the Greek islands and in northern France. | |
| “This approach will only force people to take desperate and dangerous measures to seek safety in the hands of smugglers, or face prolonged misery in camps and informal settlements or sleeping rough.” | |
| The UK offered protection in the form of asylum, humanitarian protection and alternative forms of leave and resettlement to 20,339 people in the year ending March 2020, 17% more than in the previous year. The figure was less than half of the asylum claims granted in Germany in 2019. | The UK offered protection in the form of asylum, humanitarian protection and alternative forms of leave and resettlement to 20,339 people in the year ending March 2020, 17% more than in the previous year. The figure was less than half of the asylum claims granted in Germany in 2019. |
| A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have made a generous offer to the EU on a future reciprocal arrangement for the family reunion of unaccompanied children seeking asylum (UASC) where it is in the child’s best interests. | A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have made a generous offer to the EU on a future reciprocal arrangement for the family reunion of unaccompanied children seeking asylum (UASC) where it is in the child’s best interests. |
| “No one should risk their lives by making these dangerous crossings. The UK does more to support unaccompanied children than any EU member state, and last year our asylum applications from unaccompanied children accounted for approximately 20% of all UASC claims made in the EU.” | “No one should risk their lives by making these dangerous crossings. The UK does more to support unaccompanied children than any EU member state, and last year our asylum applications from unaccompanied children accounted for approximately 20% of all UASC claims made in the EU.” |