Asylum changes will engineer one of the biggest humanitarian emergencies this country has ever seen

The Home Secretary’s announcement has alarmed people with refugee status, temporary leave, or family in the system. That uncertainty is already spilling into workplaces and communities.

While these proposals will not take effect immediately, and have to be passed by Parliament, there are fears of what could happen.

But if they do get passed, it will make resettlement much harder and a further human emergency on its way. That means more homelessness, more destitution, more crisis intervention, and more pressure on civil society.

Under the Government’s plans, people granted asylum status would face reviews every 30 months and could be removed if their homeland is deemed “safe”. On top of that, refugees would have to wait 20 years before getting settled status. A Times report on Mahmood’s asylum reforms estimates around 160,000 people granted asylum since 2021 will face retrospective application, losing their original path to quick settlement. The Government has also pledged to ramp up removals, including families with children.

Expecting families to live out of a suitcase for up to 20 years, or telling recognised refugees to prepare to leave every 2.5 years, when they have been paying thousands in taxes towards their future in this country – is that reasonable? Really?

The impact on the third sector will be severe. It will mean more organisations forced to step in and do the state’s job while the Home Office stands back and watches. Thirty years ago, when we began, a housing emergency was rare. Today, our work is around 75% crisis intervention. This at a time when charities are also going through funding uncertainties, having to consider staffing cuts, and questioning whether even keeping a building is worth the rising costs. Hundreds have closed down. We are in danger of being significantly weakened. And to what end? It is like the government is trying to break the backs of the charities that support those who have no safety net.

And what of the Palestinian students the government let in on scholarships that end in August 2026? Do they plan to send them back to Gaza? Similarly, despite thousands of Ukrainians having a safe and legal route, their future also remains unclear. We will be pleading yet again for the goodwill of volunteers on our Room for Refugees Network to take destitute people into their homes.

The rhetoric around these proposals is inflammatory, and emboldens the far right: the government is framing refugees and immigrants as a problem to be “controlled”. Actually most people are living “half lives”, hidden from visibility where it feels safer, trying to hold onto their jobs so that their legal status is not jeopardised. But even laying low will not make a difference if these retrograde proposals go ahead. It is performative cruelty and nothing to do with managing asylum and immigration, which actually most people want. If the government truly wants to stop refugees, because that’s the message of past decades, then stop bombing other people’s countries.

This country’s population would fall without refugees or immigrants. A decreasing working population means less taxes to pay for the NHS, pensions and public services. This country also has an ageing population, that require care, jobs that most other people are unwilling to do because of the low pay and long hours. Instead of making immigrants feel unwelcome should we not promote the benefits of immigration? Immigrants are doing the jobs no one else wants to do, and they are paying more than the rest of us to be here, they pay NI and income tax, as well as NHS surcharges and visa renewal fees. Effectively they are paying two or three times for what UK citizens pay for. Overseas students are propping up Scottish and UK universities with exorbitant student fees. The idea of refugees and immigrants as freeloaders has no tangible relationship to the truth.

Why would a government make laws that make it harder for refugees and immigrants to resettle, stand on their own resources, and keep their job and home and provide security for their family?

For 25 years this country has denied asylum seekers the right to work and lost itself billions in potential tax revenues. For decades it has spent billions paying outsourcing giants to provide asylum accommodation, who themselves outsource those contracts to smaller contractors, and make multi millions in profit. Asylum seeker are given as little as £9.95 a week, this is not the reason for the huge asylum bill.

And for 25 years, Glasgow has had the biggest asylum seeker population outside London. Glasgow has also declared a housing emergency because of the numbers of new refugees in temporary accommodation – due to the lack of housing. Many displaced Ukrainians have been able to rent private and social housing. This has added to housing pressures. But it’s not just about shortage of housing.

If governments of the day had engaged in long-term thinking and invested in building housing instead of giving billions to corporate giants who make millions in profits, today Glasgow would have jobs in construction and a strong social housing stock for everyone, including refugees. But short-term thinking to satisfy the news cycle is the order of the day apparently.

Asylum and immigration policy has been focussed on making life “hostile” for refugees. This means that refugees and asylum seekers are more likely to be forced into temporary and insecure housing or destitution.

Prior to getting their status asylum seekers are forced to be totally dependent on the Home Office. They are forbidden to work or rent private or social housing, or to have or save money. So, a large cohort is immediately at risk of being made homeless as soon as they get their papers.

New refugees of colour in Glasgow are more likely to be placed in temporary accommodation, severely overcrowded flats or shared rooms in hotels. In one case, a family of six is living in one hostel room, temporary accommodation.

The “Hostile Environment” also means that some private landlords are more likely to turn people of colour away, especially refugees. Access to existing housing is a major factor that increases the likelihood of refugees, migrants and visible minorities ending up in insecure housing or homeless. Damp overcrowded or rodent infested rentals are often the only “choice” left.

Immigrants, who have limited leave to remain, are at a high risk of losing their homes and jobs just because of their insecure legal status and the constant financial pressure of renewing visas for them and their children.

Where are immigrant families meant to go when the asylum and immigration legislation virtually guarantees that they will end up destitute because there is plans for a zero safety net and 100% punitive measures. Of course, blame the victim. Who cares if Cathy doesn’t have a home to go to?

These acts of self-harm by successive governments are committed in order to appease racism, win votes. It means a lurch further to the far right. In order to beat the far right, adopt more of a far-right approach. Make it make sense. Appeasing the angry mob becomes more important than doing the hard work of fixing past and present political failures. Unconscionable.

The real work that needs done to build a strong cohesive society takes time. Asylum policy is meant to provide sanctuary, not stop all routes so that people end up taking dangerous journeys and risking their lives. Immigration policy is meant to be managed so that the country gets the labour it needs.

These latest proposals should be scrapped. They are nothing more than performative cruelty which will continue to cost this country billions to implement in the long term. Remember Rwanda? It cost hundreds of millions, and no one even got on a plane in the end. The detention estate costs more millions. Of course, the contractors turn a profit for every night they keep people locked up. When people get “lost” in the system, the corporate giants still make money.

Best just call this what it is, this Home Secretary is just another “child of immigrants” capitulating to racism and bigotry to win her spurs.

(Robina Qureshi is the CEO of Positive Action in Housing, an antiracist refugee and migrant homelessness and human rights charity based in Glasgow. She has over 30 years’ frontline experience of the impact of UK asylum and immigration policy on refugees, asylum seekers and migrant communities.)

References

Home Office (2025) Restoring Order and Control: A Statement on the Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy. London: Home Office, 21 November.

The Times (2025) ‘Refugees to Face Reviews Every 30 Months Under New Home Office Plan’, The Times, 21 November.

House of Commons Library (2024) Asylum Seekers: Permission to Work Policy. London: House of Commons Library.

Home Office (2024) Permission to Work for Asylum Seekers: Policy Guidance. London: Home Office.

Home Office (2024) Asylum Support Rates: Section 95. London: Home Office.

Asylum Matters (2024) Asylum Support Rates Briefing. Asylum Matters.

National Audit Office (2024) Investigation into Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts. London: NAO.

National Audit Office (2024) Asylum Support 2023–24 Annual Report. London: NAO.

National Audit Office (2024) UK–Rwanda Partnership: Financial Assessment. London: NAO.

BBC News (2023) ‘Supreme Court Rules Rwanda Plan Unlawful’, BBC News, November.

The Guardian (2023) ‘Glasgow Warns of “Breaking Point” as Biggest UK Asylum Dispersal Area’, The Guardian, 24 October.

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Glasgow City Council (2023) Glasgow Declares Housing Emergency. Glasgow: GCC.

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