Thursday 19 April 2018

In aftermath of Windrush Scandal its time for Amber Rudd and Theresa May to be deported from office.


                            The Empire Windrush arriving in Britain from Jamaica, 21 June 1948

After Theresa May was forced to make a grovelling apology to Caribbean leaders for Windrush scandal, after Caribbean migrants who arrived in Britain 50 years ago were threatened with deportation, because some of them may be living here 'illegally', and when over-zealous enforcement means that long-term legal residents live in fear and face deportation from the only home they have ever known, something is very wrong. This follows the case of Jamaica-born Albert Thompson. Who was told to present a British passport or pay £54,000 for NHS cancer treatment., and arrives shockingly during the signifiant anniversary of Enoch Powell's infamous ' Rivers of Blood speech..
Green MP Caroline Lucas was right to say that the Tory government “wants to create a hostile environment for migrants. This isn’t a design flaw, it’s central to their programme.”
We should remember the infamous words uttered by Theresa May as home secretary in 2012. “The aim is to create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants.”
Under  racist immigration  polices introduced by Theresa May then and 2014, many of the children of the Windrush migrants are now finding themselves hounded by the government.Further changes to already racist immigration laws in 2012 and 2014 mean migrants can now be forced to prove they have the right to be here. Employers, landlords and public services such as the NHS can demand to see paperwork for healthcare provision.. other  people facing deportation, others have been made homeless or fired from their jobs. And some others have been forced to pay thousands in legal fees in their battle to stay.
This "hostile" immigration policy devised by Theresa May during her time as Home Secretary has been  regarded as "almost like Nazi Germany" by some ministers, the former head of the civil service has said.Lord Kerslake claims that concerns were voiced within government after the policy was announced in 2014.
He added that the strategy was a "very contested piece of legislation" that some ministers were "deeply unhappy" with. "Now, I can't say, and shouldn't say, as the former head of the civil service, precisely who gave what advice to whom. But, what I can tell you, it was highly contested and there were some who saw it, I shan't name them, as almost reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the way it's working," he said. Asked if he was referring to people in the civil service, Lord Kerslake said: "No, some in the ministers were deeply unhappy."
Speaking on BBC 2's Newsnight, Lord Kerslake criticised the way the Windrush controversy was being handled, calling Amber Rudd's attempt to blame the situation on the civil service "completely ridiculous".“You cannot create a climate and then not expect it to have consequences,” he said.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has refuted these comparisons.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I have never heard anyone make that comparison before Lord Kerslake did. "It is not for me to criticise a distinguished former public servant like Lord Kerslake, but I respectfully disagree."
Mr Gove went on to praise Home Secretary Amber Rudd's response to the Windrush scandal after many were wrongly threatened with deportation.
"I think the gracious way in which she apologised to those affected was a model of how a politician should react to a situation like this," he said.
Tory local government minister Sajid Javid added that  he was “deeply concerned” about the scandal.
Yet at the same time the  Tories have no sympathy for the thousands of people held at Britain’s borders in Calais, nor is there scandal for people or outrage for people currently cruelly being detained in immigration removal centres like Yarl’s Wood, Is is not shameful that such centres exist at all?
The Home Office vile policy to create a 'hostile environment' for migrants in the UK has rightly come under fire with the Windrush Scandal. We should now be calling on politicians, as well as journalists to sign up to principles for ethical reporting on migration. To recognise that migrants are #notillegalHUMAN. It is scandulous that any human being can be described as illegal.
Amber Rudd, the current Home Secretary has been using the language of individuals to take away from the structural racism that is behind the Home Office deportation system.
This needs to stop. All deportations are unjust.In order to make this happen we need politicians that can pledge to work towards these 10 principles for ethical reporting on migration, of which over 60 politicians and journalists have already signed up to. All deportations are unjust.
We should remind ourselves that  a lot of the government's  policies on immigration/ asylum/ right to stay  isn't driven by actual concrete consequences. It's driven by pandering to anti immigrant / racist views. Britain an only atone for damage caused  by adopting policies exactly opposite to those currently in place, welcoming the migrants who come to our country with open arms and not treat them as second-class citizens.
And in solidarity,it's time for Theresa May and Amber Rudd to be deported from office.

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