BRITISH CITIZENS DEPORTED FROM BRITAIN
A national outcry is being heard by the Windrush Generation, following discrimination over their apparent statuses as British Citizens. I’d like to give praise and thanks to the kind and hard-working mindset of the hundreds that first came to Britain from the Caribbean between the 1940s and 1970s to assist gaps in the job market with their families.
These commonwealth citizens are being asked under immigration reforms to prove their legitimacy as British citizens, despite many not being able to provide the copious documents since they were not provided with them on arrival as early as 1947. Many who were born, educated and have worked steadily in the UK have been threatened with deportation or worse due to failing to provide evidence of their right to residency. Many of them have been left living and working for years without what the home office now demands to see, took their time didn’t they…
Following Conservative reforms tightening immigration laws under Theresa May and Amber Rudd, there are questions to be asked about the apparent moral implications of the government’s “Hostile Environment Policy” which intended to tackle illegal immigration and create a fairer migration system. As it stands this policy has proven it prioritizes numbers over an individual’s well-being, unfairly targeting the Windrush Generation. With a lack of understanding and advice about how to confirm citizenship, it has been suggested that there was a distinct lack of guidance and support for this generation that may not have formal paperwork. With such a sharp timescale this just hasn’t been fair.
The government has made repeated assurances that each case is being treated fairly and with the upmost consideration to the shock this has caused many who are involved, this should be a very personalized and carefully undertaken task. Despite this, we can only see this as further discrimination against families who have already been often made to feel unwelcome and unappreciated for their many years of service to the UK economy. This scandal has done nothing to reduce the growing tension over the topic of immigration in the UK and has only demonstrated the moral injustice that is currently entwined with current government policy.
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