Nationality and Borders Bill: Gaslighting Migrants
Gaslighting is a term most often used to describe relationships. But as a migrant and a migrants' rights activist, “gaslighting” is the term I feel most accurately describes what the debate around the Nationality and Borders Bill has deteriorated into.
The Nationality and Borders Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 6th July 2021. It makes changes to the UK immigration system as it relates to asylum seekers and refugees; and does this primarily by introducing a two-tier system for asylum-seekers arriving in the UK, differentiating based on methods of arrival. [https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/immigration/nationality-and-borders-bill]
Whilst us activists pointed out the endless issues and shortcomings with the Bill, recognised by various groups including the UN Refugee Agency, Government MPs calculatedly turned the tables. They accused the opposition and activists of “scaremongering” and “stirring up racial tensions.” After all, there is no better way to evade accountability than to play the ‘Culture War’.
On Wednesday 7th of December, during the Report Stage of the Nationality and Borders Bill, opposition MPs as well as a few Government backbenchers expressed their concerns over the Bill; notable clauses hold huge potential to harm the lives of migrants in the UK. Meanwhile campaigners protested outside Parliament, throughout the UK and online, hoping to bring attention to this dreadful Bill.
Inside Parliament, however, MPs critical of Clause 9 (which will give the Government the power to strip dual nationals of their citizenship without notice) were ignored and actively dismissed. Analysis of the Office for National Statistics shows that Clause 9 could affect 6 million people, many from ethinic minority backgrounds who know the UK as their only home. Nonetheless, legitimate criticism of this - alongside many other aspects of the Bill - were dismissed as ”trying to create division”.
As Imran Hussein [MP] illustrated, the Government can “accuse [us] of sensationalising the situation” but the reality is clear. Walk for a day in any migrant’s shoes and you will know the anxiety of living as a migrant in the UK. Constant exposure to an anti-immigrant rhetoric and years of the Home Office’s Hostile Environment epitomised by the Windrush generation scandal have made migrants and ethnic minorities live in a state of constant insecurity in their own home. Telling us that we are ‘exaggerating’ these issues and ‘we should just trust the Government’ is not just dismissive, but an active attempt to push through inappropriate policy.
Last week I submitted my British citizenship application. This process cost just under £2,000: the application fee itself, a Life in the UK test, a biometrics appointment, and lawyers’ fees. Many long-term migrants in the UK save to pay this exorbitant fee in the hope to gain maximum security in the country they call home. But the effects of this Bill undermine this principle. In addition to the Nationality and Borders Bill, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill also aims to reduce people’s rights to protest. For migrants like myself - and many others who face injustices in the UK - our democratic voice is falling under attack.
Unfortunately we have a long way to go. With growing fervour, the Home Office and MPs talk about British citizenship as a “privilege, not a right.” These words do not stay inside Parliament alone. They are translated into everyday conversations and social media comments. When I speak up about the rights of migrants and against Clause 9, I find that increasingly often I am told to “leave” and that a naturalised dual British citizen should not complain about the UK. Again, gaslighting is the word that most aptly comes to mind to describe these comments. We migrants are being told that we are not like other people in the UK, that we are “guests” and should uncritically respect the “host.”
This Bill is not just a cultural issue. It has real life implications. Notoriously the Bill creates a dual structure of who is a “deserving” refugee and who is not. According to the Bill, those refugees that come to the UK through a resettlement scheme are allowed entry. Those who come to the UK through irregular routes, including channel crossings are most likely denied the right to asylum. If they are granted asylum, it comes with limitations on their rights, including temporary leave to remain, no right to family reunion, and no recourse to public funds, leading to destitution. In reality, we have few safe legal routes for asylum seekers. Additionally, the Government is passing the buck to the “French” and “people’s smugglers.” The Bill creates a two-tier system based on the method of arrival in the UK rather than people’s needs.
The Nationality and Borders Bill was a missed opportunity to improve the lives of migrants in the UK. Opposition MPs tabled a range of amendments to the Bill aiming to fix some of the key problems faced by migrants. For example, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP tabled an amendment to stop the Home Office from profiting over children’s citizenship applications. Children are currently charged £1,012 to become a British citizen – even though the process only costs the Home Office £372. Children should not pay the price of the Hostile Environment.
Similarly, Meg Hillier MP tabled an amendment for EU citizens under the EU Settlement Scheme to have access to physical proof of that status. Under the current digital-only system, many vulnerable EU citizens with no access to the internet struggle to prove their rights in the UK to employers, landlords, and Government agencies. Bambos Charalambous MP and Stuart McDonald MP also tabled amendments to remove the barrier of Comprehensive Sickness Insurance that affects EU citizens from accessing citizenship in the UK. These are actions the3million have been campaigning for.
The Bill was an opportunity to improve migrants’ rights. Instead, the route chosen will continue harming migrants in the UK. Disappointingly, the gaslighting narrative created around the Bill, in addition to its legal, practical effects, will continue making it easy to dismiss migrants’ concerns and voices in the UK.
If you are a UK citizen, you can sign the petition against the Nationality and Borders Bill here.
Written by Lara Parizotto
Lara Parizotto is a Brazilian-Italian national in the UK. She is the co-manager of the Young Europeans Network and co-founder of Migrants4Labour.
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