Over 500 people gathered in Parliament to urge MPs to reject ‘disastrous’ immigration overhaul
On 11th March Praxis, alongside Citizens UK and Migration Exchange, organised a mass lobby in Parliament. Over 500 people marched to Parliament and met with over 100 MPs about the Government's devastating proposed changes to settlement. We were joined by the Royal College of Nursing, Unison, disability rights campaigners, homelessness organisations, mental health organisations, migrant-led groups and so many more - including Praxis' own campaign group and community groups made up of people with lived experience of the hostile immigration system.
The proposed changes represent the biggest overhaul of settlement policy in a generation and could affect 1.35 million people already living and working in the UK. They risk harming public services, the economy and poverty reduction mandates.
That’s why we were in Parliament calling for a maximum five-year route to settlement for all and for a guarantee that no retrospective changes will apply to people already in the UK.
Image credit: Daisy Gaston
Minnie Rahman, CEO of Praxis:
“Decisions affecting 1.35 million people should not be pushed through by the Government without proper scrutiny or transparent evidence. Imposing retrospective changes for people who have built their lives here is disastrous and will severely damage trust in the UK’s immigration system. These proposals are destabilising and will put migrant families - including those working in our health and social care sectors - at risk of prolonged financial hardship. The British public will also pay the price for these discriminatory changes through negatives impacts on the economy.
The Government must urgently publish impact assessments and allow MPs to exercise their right to scrutinise the proposals. At a minimum, they must guarantee that no changes will retrospectively move the goalposts for people who already call the UK home.”
Patricia, a campaigner at Praxis:
“I came to the UK believing that if you worked hard and followed the rules, you could build a stable life. My child has complex needs and I claimed the benefits I was legally entitled to so I could care for him properly. Now I’m being told that because I needed that support, my path to settlement could stretch to 20 years.
We already pay thousands in visa fees every few years, and living with this constant uncertainty makes it impossible to plan for the future. It makes you feel like you don’t really belong - even though my children were born here and this is the only home they know. Families like mine are simply trying to care for our children, but these changes are pushing more of them into poverty.”
Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam:
“These proposals would lock hundreds of thousands of working people into decades of insecurity. Migrant workers who keep our NHS running, care for our elderly and power local economies are being told their future here is conditional and uncertain. It is against British values of fairness to change these rules retrospectively and the Government must urgently change course.”
Bejoy Sebastian, Royal College of Nursing President:
“Migrant health and care staff aren’t just our colleagues, but part of our communities, our national life and have worked alongside us since the inception of the NHS. It’s difficult to understand why Ministers would create so much uncertainty for those who have made such a vital contribution to society. It is as immoral as it is illogical.
While the Home Secretary has said that registered nurses working in the NHS will stay on the same 5-year qualifying period, there is a vast number of nursing staff across health and social care this will not apply too. Increasing this for nursing support workers and care workers who keep our social care system afloat, as they did during the Covid-19 pandemic, would be an outrageous betrayal.
Constant limbo and uncertainty are no way to treat those who come to the UK to treat our sick and vulnerable. Hostile environment immigration policies will directly impede the government’s reforms to health and social care, and we urge MPs to raise this issue urgently with government and oppose these changes.”