People’s dignity and value are not dependant on the place of their birth or the colour of their skin. People’s worth shouldn’t be diminished when they are displaced through conflict, persecution or natural disaster. But the UK’s immigration and asylum-seeking policies often dehumanise those involved and produces unfair and unjust outcomes.
We want to see an immigration and asylum system that treats people humanely and with dignity. This Bible talks about our responsibility to welcome the stranger and to care for those in need, including the widow, orphan, immigrants and poor. We believe that God has the best design for society, and we want to see these values modelled and maintained in the UK’s immigration laws.
We are advocating for an immigration and asylum system that treats people justly and we have concerns over current proposals to reform the system through the New Plan for Immigration. We’re concerned that it creates a two-tier system based on how people arrived and that this is unjust, and that it fails to deal with people in a humane and dignified manner.
People seeking asylum have often fled from terror, conflict and persecution. Understanding this trauma should affect how their accounts are treated, and it should be recognised that the distrust of officials and state bodies may mean that the whole story may not be immediately apparent. The Government’s New Plan for Immigration is confusing in its purpose, prose and potential impact.
The Evangelical Alliance works with member organisations including Welcome Churches, which believes no refugee should be alone when they arrive in the UK. Welcome Churches is building a network of churches across the UK that are ready and willing to welcome refugees arriving in their communities. Everyone who is seeking asylum should be treated with respect and compassion while they are in the UK. We have a call to welcome the stranger and we urge the government to create a system that does this in a meaningful way.
“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 19:33 – 34
