BY CELIA PUGH
LONDON - In January, 13,000 asylum seekers in the United Kingdom could lose all welfare, housing, and government benefits, according to the Department of Health and Social Security. The agency plans to apply new regulations under the 1993 Immigration and Asylum Act. Two weeks before the January 8 implementation date, public protest forced the government to postpone the plans until after a debate in Parliament.
The Campaign Against the Immigration and Asylum Bill (CAIAB) - a broad coalition of refugee, immigrant, and Black rights groups, churches, and political organizations - denounced the measure and said it "will lead to severe hardship, destitution, and homelessness."
The new regulations apply to all refugees seeking asylum after they enter the country. The government estimates that 40,000 people apply for asylum each year, with 12,000 dependents. Of these some 30 percent ask for refugee status immediately at the port of entry. The remaining 70 percent enter on temporary tourist, student, or business visas and apply for asylum once they are in Britain.
Claude Moraes, director of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told the national daily The Guardian, "Claiming asylum at the port of entry can be a recipe in the minds of asylum seekers for being returned to their country of origin." In 1994, the Home Office only recognized 4 percent of asylum applications. The January benefit cutoff will apply to all new "after entry" asylum seekers, as well as those who have been turned down, are appealing, or await deportation.
In addition to the January regulations, the government is preparing legislation to toughen the asylum and immigration laws. A bill is to come before parliament in March.
Proposals for the regulations include an obligation on teachers, doctors, hospitals, housing, and benefit officials to inform on suspected immigration violations. Benefit claim forms will ask a person's nationality. The government says this will "act as a trigger question for further enquiries where appropriate."
Home Secretary Michael Howard said November 20 that employers could be convicted and fined for employing illegal workers if they failed to inspect national insurance numbers, birth certificates, or passports.
The new laws could include further visa restrictions and lost benefits for "sponsored immigrants." These are mainly elderly or disabled relatives of immigrants resident in Britain who are allowed to stay if cared for by families.
`White list'
The proposals include a "white list" of countries deemed
safe, on the basis of which immigration officials would
automatically challenge applications for asylum.
Following the execution of Nigerian dissident Ken Saro- Wiwa, the government was forced to deny that Nigeria was on the "white list." Other countries rumored to be deemed "safe" were Sri Lanka and Algeria, which Howard also denied.
But refugee organizations report that such a procedure effectively exists. Home Office figures show that since January 1995, only one of 2,032 Nigerian refugee applications has been accepted.
At a November 16 CAIAB public meeting at the House of Commons, Kate Allen of the Asylum Rights Campaign told the crowd of 200 that in 1995, 92 percent of refugee applicants from Algeria were turned down, as were 89 percent of those from Sri Lanka.
Lee Jasper of the National Black Alliance told the same meeting, "The government is moving to identification cards to see who are `legal' and who `illegal' immigrants. South Africa has done away with pass laws, and the British government is implementing their own."
Another speaker, Rev. Theo Samuel of the Churches' Commission for Racial Justice, pointed out, "People are here from Eastern Europe; they are affected too." Last August, Refugee Council figures showed that 11,000 people from Yugoslavia had applied for asylum. Of these, only 2,000 had their applications processed and only 25 got full refugee status.
Deportation of Nigerian
Rousing applause greeted Lola Onibiyo at the meeting.
She led a fight against the deportation of her father to
Nigeria. The government withdrew his permanent residency
status although he had lived in Britain for 30 years.
Before his deportation Abdul Onibiyo was beaten by the
police and denied medical treatment at the detention
center.
Onibiyo left behind his wife and five children. He is an opponent of the regime in Nigeria and his relatives fear for his well being. They have not heard from him since his deportation.
On December 7 Lola Onibiyós 19-year-old brother Ade was within half an hour of deportation to Nigeria. The Home Office was forced by the public campaign to concede a delay to allow a final appeal. The youth remains in detention. Lola Onibiyo told the audience at the meeting, "We have to form a united front to fight these laws. We all have a right to be here. I am here to stay and here to fight. We have a right to human dignity."
Amir Hussain Mashkur from Tower Hamlets College Student Union echoed this at a November 4 conference of the newly founded Student Assembly Against Racism. "As young people we represent the future," he said. "We have to get active, get involved, and get organized."
The Student Assembly is building a national CAIAB demonstration against the Immigration and Asylum Act in London February 24. Two thousand protesters joined a rally and lobby of Parliament December 19.