Failures in the current UK immigration and asylum system undermine the rule of law, and any review of the system ‘should begin with a long, hard look at the culture driving Home Office systems and processes’, Law Society of England and Wales president Christina Blacklaws, has said. She welcomes the Home Secretary’s statement on the government’s intention to review the immigration system.Christina Blacklaws said lack of accountability in Home Office decision-making remained a concern: ‘Appeal rights have been stripped back. Where they remain, many people cannot afford to appeal because legal aid has been removed.‘No data is even available on the quality of decisions subject to administrative review, and the immigration exemption in the Data Protection Bill has stripped further accountability from Home Office decision making.’She stressed that legislation and opaque processes are increasingly shielding UK Visa and Immigration from scrutiny, and warned: ‘Until the government addresses the root causes of the problems in our immigration and asylum system, anyone applying for a visa or claiming asylum is playing a game of roulette in which a flawed decision has a devastating impact on their life.’
The Home Secretary’s statement to Parliament can be seen here.
Source: Press release: Fair immigration and asylum system essential pillar of justice
