Political concerns still a factor in attitudes to immigration and refugees
October 2026
Worldwide, while the number of refugees continues to grow by contrast, the amount of support continues to fall. The UNHCR have a new report Protection Eroded: the Human Cost of Underfunding, which notes how governments are cutting back on their provisions for refugee aid. Between 2024 and 2025, the total amount of aid fell from $5.2 billion to $3.9 billion, and by July of this year only 32% of the allocated funds had been received. Some British political parties are, of course, eager to cut the aid budget even more.
The US government has attacked the UNHCR for its emphasis on protection, inclusion, durable solutions and legal pathways, on the grounds that it facilitates mass migration. In reality 65% of refugees are in states near to their origins, 70% in Lower and Middle Income countries. An article in the Swiss-based New Humanitarian notes that European and North American countries want refugees to stay nearer their bases, but cutbacks have made the problem worse – by making it someone else’s problem, they encourage more movement. They summarise “Refugee protection is not the opposite of border control… calling [legal routes] ‘open borders’ is like accusing a court of acquitting everyone simply because it gives each defendant a hearing.”
Shabana Mahmood
Closer to home, speaking to The Rest is Politics podcast, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “sexual abusers would exploit most asylum seekers as long as traffickers continued to decide who came to the UK”. She said: “We’re not in control of this border. The sifting of the people that end up in the north of France and are about to get on a dinghy is done by criminal gangs who are also, by the way, people traffickers… You can almost guarantee that every woman that’s in the north of France has probably been raped along the journey. Some of the men too, they’ve certainly been abused and threatened. That is not the model that should decide whether somebody gets to come to the UK, make this their place of sanctuary and ultimately become one of us.”
In passing, the recent claim by a whistleblower that only 1 in a 100 claims for asylum are genuine appears to have had little purchase, and has not become a serious contention.
The “one-in-one-out” scheme for boat people between the UK and France has not been renewed; the government considered the numbers involved to be unable to be increased for practical reasons. It has been very costly.
The Home Secretary has established a legal resettlement route for women and girls from Afghanistan and Pakistan with medical needs, but this will only apply to hundreds rather than thousands of refugees. From this month, charities and local community groups can apply to be sponsors or hosts to arrivals, as from next Autumn, according to Mahmood’s speech to the Labour Party conference. The Refugee Council considers the numbers allowed in to be far too small.
For those already here, the new legislation will impose new limits. With the extended time frame for right to remain, it is calculated that in 20 years, the cost has increased from £155 to £3,226. For those receiving temporary support before a decision is made a £10,000 “refugee tax” will effectively be imposed once they are accepted. The UK has the most expensive immigration fees in Europe. It has been suggested that the extended qualifying period may be reduced, as discussions are ongoing.
A group calling itself the Coalition for Asylum Rights and Justice has opposed the planned Independent Immigration Appeals Authority as not independent, less qualified, unfair in not expediting appeals and not improving decision-making. This is still under discussion in the Bill in committee.
At a time of much disturbance centred around asylum seekers accommodation, the Chief Constable of Essex stated that the level of crime in the towns around the Wethersfield holding centre is less than 3 years ago when the site opened.
AH
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