Hundreds have signed a petition against a “dangerous” Immigration Bill.
Refugees, asylum seekers and supporters camped out in St George’s Square on a mattress for seven hours to highlight some of the controversial changes in the bill, ahead of it being debated by the House of Lords on March 9.
Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield organised the event.
The group’s members fear that asylum support could be completely axed for more people who have been refused under the proposed new Section 95A support, leaving those including families homeless and less able to submit new claims.
Talking to the Examiner, Lucy Lucy, founder of the charity, said the stricter support criteria was designed to force more people to return to their home country, even when support charities knew it would not be safe for them to do so.
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She added that 66 per cent of “unjust” initial refusal decisions for asylum seekers DASH helped last year were overturned, which resulted in them being granted leave to remain.
Talking about the protest, she said: “It went really well.
“We talked to a steady stream of people throughout the day, who were not all aware of the dangerous effects this Immigration Bill could have if made into law.
“We will now send the petition off to parliament to highlight the opposition and see what happens in the House of Lords.
“There has been a lot of opposition and I hope that the Lords will oppose it.
“But we and hopefully other groups around the country like us are ready to protest more if it doesn’t go well but we may have to let it go through then challenge it in court, which would be costly.”
June Jones, a supporter of the campaign, talked about why she wants the bill to be overturned.
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“It’s headline grabbing but not workable. If someone gets refused a right to stay here and they really can’t go home despite the Government saying they can they will just go underground.
“It’s just absolutely disgusting that we may not be able to properly support asylum seekers, who are some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
“But also, we have an aging population and massive skills shortage.
“Asylum seekers have a lot to contribute to this country.”
For more information, go to www.huddsdash.org.uk to find contact details.
