The Refugee Council, my organisation, will continue to oppose this legislation both because we think it’s a stain on this country’s record of supporting those in need, and because it will do nothing to reduce the number of boats.
Tough talk will get the Home Secretary nowhere, and under-funding the system for processing applications is deeply counter-productive.
The best solution to the small boats is to expand safe, legal pathways to Britain for asylum seekers.
We should take pride in seven decades of refugee protection, and it is a principle we must uphold in the future too.
Under the government’s New Plan for Immigration, there is a risk that people like her will be turned away, or only given temporary protection.
Research by the Refugee Council finds that, far from acting as a deterrent, the Rwanda plan is likely to result in people taking journeys that are even more dangerous and will drive vulnerable people underground.