No one is Illegal

Felicity Dowling writes: For many weeks now, immigration has been the top story in the media and not in a good way. The latest turn of events is the conflict between local authorities where refugees are being housed, who want them removed and the Home Office, which want to keep them there. The Home Office was recently defeated in court by Epping Forest District Council.

This situation reflects firstly the ridiculously long time it takes for applications for refugee status to be processed. This delay is part of the former Conservative governments’ “Hostile Environment” policies, which should have been rapidly improved by this Government. While refugees are waiting to be processed, they receive £49 per week for food, clothing and travel. They receive £8.86 if they are in a hotel or other catered accommodation. They cannot choose where they are accommodated and can be moved without their consent.

After asylum is granted people can work and get their own accommodation.

The situation also reflects the shortage of housing in this country. When there are other housing crises hotels get used too. There are about 900,000 empty homes in the UK and 290,000 people without a permanent home. SKY News report that 6,000 of these are council homes. Some homes are bought purely for speculation. Shelter says “In the 1960s, 1.24 million social homes were built compared to 150,000 in the 2010s. In 1969, we built more social rent homes than we have built in the last 13 years combined”, and “Insufficient social housebuilding, plus too many homes being sold or demolished, means there’s been a net loss of social housing nearly every year since 1981. In 2023/24, there was a net loss of 650 social rent homes.”

Housing in in a very poor state

Left Unity endorses the statement by women’s groups condemning the hijacking of vital conversations about violence against women by an anti-migrant agenda “that fuels division, harms survivors and ultimately impedes the real work of tackling the root causes of society-wide violence, to the detriment of women and girls.”

“We condemn all acts of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the immense harm which such acts cause to individuals and communities. The facts about violence against women and girls in the UK are stark:

• Almost one in three women will experience domestic abuse, and sexual offences are at the highest level recorded.

• One woman every four days in the UK is murdered by a partner or ex-partner.

• More than 90% of perpetrators of rape and sexual assault are known to their victims.

• One in two rapes against women are carried out by a partner or ex-partner.

• One in three adult survivors of rape experience it in their own home.

• Women who can’t access public funds, such as welfare support or housing assistance – due to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions – are three times more likely to experience VAWG.

So, what should refugees and migrants be saying? What demands should socialists and progressives be making? Should we be supporting the Home Office? That is rarely a good idea and in this case we would be leaving the refugees in the line of fire, in Epping and around the country.

On the other hand, if the councils win this is a victory for racists who want them out and reinforcing the notion that migrants and refugees are a threat to the local community. Neither demand is a way forward of refugees, migrants and the wider community.

Anti-migrant racism is fuelled and literally organised globally by the far right and their management and control of social media. The same foul ideas are pedalled in Italy, South Africa, Germany, Hungary and of course the USA.

And countries far poorer than the UK are receiving many more migrants than the UK. War, oppression, climate crises and poverty are malign forces driving mass forced migration of people. Global capitalism itself drives migration of workers from the global south into the wealthier north to provide workers, especially where they can be paid less than the settled workforce.

In a better world people would migrate for love, to follow a particular education or career development, or for the joy of travel.

Falling living standards, a housing crisis, poor pay and conditions of work, expensive post school education, a bleak future and hugely damaged public services, are fuelling anger in this country. Labour has utterly betrayed its roots and links in working class communities. The huge response to Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn’s new party gives an opportunity to resow the ideas of socialism in working class communities.

We need to go back to basics. Any legislation that declares that people are illegal because of where they were born, where their parents and grandparents were born, what language you speak, what your faith is, or none, because their skill set doesn’t match those needed by the bosses… are inherently discriminatory and racist. So, we are against all immigration controls.

We are for the right to work for all, the right to benefits, the same rights to housing for everyone: these rights would make the hotels superfluous except, perhaps, for the very short term whilst people find their feet. These demands would apply to all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers but there will be particular support required to address the needs of those escaping persecution.

The normal means of transport should be open to refugees including planes, ferries, trains and coaches. They would then apply on arrival as used to happen. Those who come on small boats and end up in nasty hotels declare themselves to the police on arrival. There will be no need for ‘small boats.’

There is discontent and fear in the country. Our prisons do not work nor does our mental health service. The murders in Southport were not related to immigration but were appalling and very frightening. Violence against women is a national emergency and many women just don’t report it.

Our public services are rundown and there is no sign of improvement.

War, poverty, oppression and climate change will continue to drive population movement.

We demand massive investment in housing, health, education, youth services, social services, and the legal system.

We hope that Your Party, by organising in each area, will be able to reinvigorate the anti-racist, multi-cultural values of our communities.

They say get back! We say fight back!