‘Not who we are’: Birmingham charities urge Home Secretary to scrap ‘heartbreaking’ asylum policies

Marking the move of Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood to the key post, in an open letter the groups tell her “congratulations on the new job, bab”, before expressing their fears that policies promoted by her Government are leaving refugees in Birmingham facing homelessness; causing refugee families to be “ripped apart permanently” and “prevent[ing] some refugees from becoming Brummies”. 

The policies criticised by the groups included changes that will mean people given refugee status no longer have the automatic right to be joined by their families, and that, despite having been given refugee status, meaning they’ve been ruled not to be safe in their country of origin, refugees will not automatically be on a path towards indefinite leave to remain in the UK. They also raised concerns about changes to the “move-on period”, which gives newly-recognised refugees just 28 days to find independent accommodation. 

Urging her to reassess these plans, the groups urged her to “come for a cuppa” and see the impact they were already having in Birmingham, in particular the increased pressure on services created by the move-on period changes. 

Signatories included Baobab Women’s Project, a group which supports refugee and migrant women within Shabana Mahmood’s Ladywood Constituency, Birmingham Unison, Birmingham City of Sanctuary and Journey LGBT+ Asylum group, as well as many local faith groups including the West Midlands Synod of The United Reformed Church and the West Midlands Methodist District.

Among the signatories was Nat, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe who is a member of Stories Of Hope and Home, a charity in the Ladywood constituency which gives people seeking sanctuary a space to share their experiences. She said the Home Secretary’s rhetoric about people seeking asylum had made her feel “deeply hurt and discouraged”.

Nat said: “Birmingham has been a place where I hoped to find understanding and compassion, and hearing such remarks from a leader I looked up to made me feel unwanted and judged for circumstances beyond my control. I understand that the asylum system brings challenges to communities, but behind every statistic or headline are real people: fathers, sons, and daughters and mothers like me trying to survive and contribute positively to society. We want to feel seen, not blamed; supported, not shamed. I still believe in the kindness of people in Birmingham and in the values of fairness and humanity that this city stands for. I only ask that our voices and stories are also part of the conversation moving forward.”

Isabel Goshawk, of Erdington ESOL, which offers English lessons at Six Ways Baptist Church in Erdington, said: "We meet a lot of people who are really worried about these changes: worried, disappointed, and a bit baffled. We see the lengths people go to, and how desperate they are, to get their families back together, so making that even harder has been heartbreaking for a lot of people. It's really disappointing to see a Labour Home Secretary, and someone from Birmingham, making it harder for people to reunite with their families or feel settled in this country. 

"Birmingham is a place where, by and large, people really work together: it's so welcoming and it always has been. The majority of people do really celebrate that, but when you see the Government pushing legislation like this, I worry it gives a small group of people the right to say terrible things, and try and make Birmingham into something it's not."

Emma Birks, West Midlands campaigns manager at Asylum Matters, added: “Shabana Mahmood was elected to represent the people of Birmingham Ladywood, but some of the policies she’s put forward are just not who we are in this amazing, diverse, welcoming city. And they’re putting immense pressure on our charities and local services to fill the gaps left by the Government’s cruelty.

“As a fellow Brummie, we’re urging her to meet with her constituents and neighbours to understand the heartbreaking and terrifying impact of policies that leave refugees facing homelessness, keep children away from their parents and stop refugees from being able to belong.”