Amidst major asylum policy overhaul, 720 bishops, rabbis, church ministers and an imam from UK communities have written to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to raise concerns for refugee families. Signatories gathered yesterday (25 March) outside the Houses of Parliament to call the Government to protect family reunion rights.
In 2025, the Government suspended a vital route for partner reunion and for children trying to reunite with parents. New settlement proposals would effectively end automatic family reunion for newly recognised refugees, replacing it with a far more restrictive system that narrows the definition of “family” and puts reunion out of reach for many.
The letter, supported by HIAS+JCORE, and coordinated by the Joint Public Issues Team of the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches, urges the Home Secretary to reconsider these plans, saying they will “deepen suffering and place Britain at odds with values long central to our national identity and to every major faith tradition in this land”.
Alongside concerns that “making family reunion inaccessible and/or contingent on a fee-paying route will neither reduce journeys nor create a more settled country”, the letter also highlights that restricting this safe route will “push desperate people toward the very smuggling networks we all wish to dismantle”.
Signatories continued by urging the Home Secretary to “reconsider these proposals, to protect the right to family reunion, and to demonstrate the moral leadership that this moment demands.”
Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director of HIAS+JCORE and letter signatory, said:
“There is nothing fair or compassionate about keeping families divided. The Jewish community understands this well: the Kindertransport saved thousands of lives, but it also left many children separated from their families. We need to learn the lessons of that lasting pain.
“At a time of deepening division, the Government must bring humanity and responsibility back into refugee policy. Reinstating family reunion rights would be a vital step and make a huge difference to people rebuilding their lives here.”
