Mark Rowland
Dear Parliamentarian,
The anti-asylum seeker protests across the country in recent weeks are deeply worrying, particularly given last year’s racist riots. A government minister has claimed that the protestors are upset for “legitimate reasons”, without acknowledging that some organisers have neo-Nazi links. It is alarming that there has been little empathy shown towards asylum seekers themselves, many of whom are fleeing trauma and persecution.
As an organisation working to protect asylum seekers’ mental health, we too find the UK’s current asylum system unacceptable, for different reasons. Asylum seekers are denied agency, community, and sometimes even medical care. All of these factors severely damage mental wellbeing.
The system forces asylum seekers into limbo - unable to work, travel, house themselves, or integrate - and systematically undermines their mental health. Asylum seekers are left to become sitting ducks for ire, wrongly perceived by some as ‘on the take’ or here with wrongful intentions, but in reality desperate to give back and live in peace. This provides fuel for racist hatred, while working to poison public opinion against them.
The mental health toll extends beyond asylum seekers. Local communities are being polarised, public discourse is increasingly hostile, and many people - regardless of their views - feel anxious and powerless. A humane, efficient asylum system would help to restore a sense of compassion, stability and shared purpose in our society.
An important part of the solution is the development of a national integration strategy, already in place in Scotland and Wales, but absent in England. Without it, asylum seekers face endless uncertainty, isolation, and poor access to services. Meanwhile, surrounding local communities, many of them low-income, are denied opportunities to foster relationships with them and are left vulnerable to misinformation and racist rhetoric.
This integration strategy must be co-created with local authorities, civil society and people with lived experience of seeking refuge. It should include:
- Greater investment in tailored English language support
- Comprehensive reform of asylum accommodation - introducing community-based and dignified housing.
- The right to work after 6 months.
- The provision of emotional support to help asylum seekers understand and process their experience. This could build on our own Bridges to Belonging peer support work.
These measures have public support and are economically sound. For example granting work rights could add £4.4 billion to the economy as well as promote further integration.
We urge Members of Parliament to:
- lead by example in public discourse by using language that supports community cohesion, rather than undermines it
- Call on the government to develop a comprehensive national integration strategy - one that supports asylum seekers to rebuild their lives, strengthens local communities by fostering positive connections between asylum seekers and the public, and promotes mental wellbeing across our society. Only by doing this can we restore faith in the UK’s asylum system.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Rowland
Chief Executive
Mental Health Foundation