Rob Bates, of the Center for Migration Control, has warned that tens of thousands of people could be left homeless under new asylum housing rules.
Speaking about the Government’s plans, Mr Bates said the current legislation places the burden of accommodation on local authorities, forcing councils to pick up the slack for individuals who have been living in hotels.
It comes as the Home Office is set to begin removing asylum seekers from hotel accommodation this spring as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will scrap the Government’s legal obligation to provide support to all destitute asylum seekers, replacing it with discretionary powers that significantly restrict who receives help.
The measures will target migrants who have the financial means to support themselves but choose not to, as well as those with the right to work, individuals who break the law or work illegally, and people who refuse deportation orders.
Currently, some 111,651 asylum seekers receive payments or accommodation from the Government, with thousands expected to lose their support under the new rules.
Rob Bates, Director at the Centre for Migration Control, has warned that the policy may not deliver the tough results the Home Secretary desires.
“The headlines of this story are exactly what the sort of Home Secretary would want. It sounds incredibly tough evicting illegal migrants, but in reality, actually the numbers here that would be eligible for eviction from accommodation is very, very small anyway,” he told Nana Akua on GB News.
Rob Bates, Director at the Centre for Migration Control, has warned that the policy may not deliver the tough results the Home Secretary desires
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GB NEWS
“They have to have been in initial accommodation in the hotels for 12 months, then applied for right to work, then being granted the right to work before the Home Secretary would even be able to, under these powers, remove them from the accommodation,” he added.
Mr Bates also criticised the government for exacerbating pressure on the asylum accommodation system through its own policy decisions.
He pointed to a recent change that doubled the period asylum seekers can remain in hotels after being granted refugee status, extending it to 56 days.
“That’s causing huge increases on the pressure and the need for rooms,” he said.
Shabana Mahmood has vowed to be tougher on the small boats crisis | PAThe migration expert argued this contradicted the Government’s stated aim of reducing hotel usage, describing the situation as one where British citizens on housing waiting lists for years are being displaced in favour of asylum seekers.
“I think is a complete reversal of where the priorities of a British Government should be. It’s absolutely absurd, actually, to be honest with you,” Mr Bates stated.
“The concern is that they will then end up on the streets and will end up with a homeless situation full of people from foreign countries have nowhere to live.
“If we did see large numbers having that right to accommodation removed, then the biggest beneficiaries would be those in the drug and sex trafficking.”
According to the latest available figures, approximately 36,000 asylum seekers were housed in hotels at the end of September, with fewer than 200 such facilities currently in operation.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 people living in asylum accommodation already possess the right to work due to their current visa status.
A further 9,000 individuals have gained work rights after waiting more than 12 months for their asylum claim to be processed, though not all of these are in Home Office accommodation.
The Government has committed to phasing out migrant hotels entirely by the end of this parliament in 2029.
