Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
The Home Office is losing sight. asylum seeker Insiders and charities have said “rampant” errors and administrative problems in the UK have led to officials being denied addresses and contact details. I.
This week Documents issued by the department It revealed that of the 5,700 migrants it had identified for deportation on flights to Rwanda, only 2,143 “continue to report to the Home Office and can be located for detention”.
Some asylum seekers who were formally warned that they could be sent to Kigali are believed to have gone into hiding, while others are thought to have accidentally lost contact with the Home Office due to the Home Office’s own mistakes. ing.
In response, one minister insisted that “law enforcement officers” would deal with the situation. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News: “If someone doesn’t make the report they should, you shouldn’t think you can get away with it.” She said, “They will definitely be found.”
However, a Home Ministry insider said: I First of all, it’s about the confusion within the department that lost track of the asylum seekers.
Official rules mean that the reporting criteria available for monitoring can change at any time. Asylum seekers will be notified of the changes by letter, but the letters will not always arrive at the correct address, insiders said. I.
A Home Office caseworker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said multiple databases and troubled technology projects made it difficult to make mistakes that resulted in inconsistent, outdated or incorrect addresses and contact details. He said the department was “disorganized”.
“The problem is pervasive,” they said, noting that some files contain multiple addresses for a person, that vacation rental companies do not always update the Home Office when they move, and that they do not always update their addresses with the Home Office when they move. He explained that asylum seekers seeking renewal may not have the necessary “evidence.” Depends on the person concerned.
“Letters about reporting requirements or changes to bail conditions are sent to the wrong place, so applicants don’t turn up, move for some reason and don’t notify the Home Office,” the caseworker said.
“It’s not those people’s fault, but the Home Office won’t admit that and blames them.”
Officials previously said: I Dysfunction within the ministry meant that people with huge backlogs of asylum claims sometimes died without the Ministry of Interior knowing about it.
I It also revealed problems caused by the flawed Atlas in the Home Office IT system. The system, which cost at least £71 million, blocked civil servants from applying for asylum and prevented them from updating their records for weeks.
Fresh warnings about Home Office errors came as the Home Office revealed today that the detention of the first migrants seeking to travel to Rwanda is underway.But the caseworker I They said the ministry’s incompetence also extended to how it selected asylum seekers for expulsion.
“They don’t know what they’re doing. It’s all brutality and a pretense,” they said. “They cast a big net, see who shows up, fill their detention targets, and claim they are at the top of the heap…This is why they are so afraid of people who don’t show up.”
Lawyer questions Home Office explanation for missing migrants
This week, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry denied that all 3,557 of the 5,700 asylum seekers Rwanda had agreed to accept were missing. It said they were subject to less stringent restrictions and some were living in Home Office accommodation.
The statement further added: “An initial group of approximately 2,000 eligible cases have been identified for deletion, but with strict reporting conditions.
“For those outside this group, there is still a wide range of reporting tools to maintain contact with them. This includes in-person and digital reporting, although many reside in Home Office accommodation. .”
But immigration lawyer Sonia Lenegan questioned this explanation. She said it was “very difficult” to understand why the Home Office would not impose conditions on those selected for Rwanda.
“Obviously there is a risk of them escaping,” she said. I. “Why would they say, ‘We’ll consider sending you to Rwanda, goodbye!'” That doesn’t seem like a realistic process. ”
Ms Lenegan said many asylum seekers found reporting directly to the government “stressful in normal times” due to their experiences with authorities in their home countries.
“I think some people are too scared to report because Rwanda is a potential threat,” she warned.
James Wilson, director of the charity Detention Action, said: “We are extremely concerned about the impact that the threat of detention and deportation to Rwanda has on journalists.
“It is understandable that people fear being sent back to Rwanda where they are once again persecuted. We also acknowledge that missing persons may be at serious risk of human trafficking and exploitation. I am concerned.”
The Freedom from Torture charity believes people are afraid of being sent to Rwanda and are “already unable to access support systems”, including government accommodation and financial support.
Anne Salter, head of clinical services for the North West of England, said: ‘This is exposing already vulnerable people to exploitation and abuse, and putting them at risk of destitution and homelessness without access to vital services. “It will be.”
“Before a single plane takes off, Rwanda’s policies have already caused enormous damage. Every day in our therapy rooms, torture survivors express despair and utter despair over this cruel plan.” is expressed.”
The Refugee Council said it was aware of cases where people were unaware they needed to report it to the government because the information was sent to the wrong address.
John Featonbee, the charity’s chief policy analyst, said some asylum seekers could not afford to travel to one of Britain’s 13 migrant reporting centres, many miles from where they lived. He said there are people.
“It is not surprising that the Home Office appears to have lost touch with the people it wants to deport to Rwanda,” he said.
“We know from our work with people fleeing war and persecution that they feel incredibly anxious and distressed about the Rwanda program and do not want to have contact with the authorities, so we We expected something like this to happen. They would inevitably face the risk of exploitation and abuse.”
This news is based on the following research I The report last year revealed that asylum seekers were being classified as “fugitives” and having their applications unfairly canceled by the Home Office because authorities were sending letters to old addresses.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said all 5,700 asylum seekers assessed by Rwanda are on entry bail, but how they are managed depends on individual circumstances and the capacity of the Ministry of Home Affairs notification centre.