Mhairi Black MP Calls For Change In Law To Reunite Refugee Families In The UK

The Private Member’s Bill debate on refugee family reunion could transform lives, bringing families torn apart by war and persecution back together.

Mhairi Black MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South has pledged her support for the Private Member’s Bill on refugee family reunion.

In the House of Commons last week, Mhairi met with members of the Families Together campaign to discuss the urgency of reuniting refugee families in the UK. Refugees who have been separated from their families continue to remain apart from their loved ones because of current restrictive UK laws on refugee family reunion.

The rules mean that some people with family members in the UK – including children who have turned 18 and elderly parents – often find themselves facing an impossible choice: remain in what can often be an insecure and dangerous place, or embark on a treacherous, expensive, unregulated journey, often in the hands of smugglers.

The rules also prevent child refugees in this country from sponsoring even their closest family members to join them, making the UK one of only two EU countries to deny refugee children the chance to grow up with their family.

The Refugee (Families Reunion) Bill debate on Friday 16 March has the power to change this. If the Bill were to pass its second reading, it would bring the UK one step closer to undoing this wrong.

The Bill calls for:

• Child refugees in the UK having the right to sponsor their close family so they can rebuild their lives together and help them integrate in their new community;

• An expansion of who qualifies as a family so that young people who have turned 18 and elderly parents can live in safety with their families in the UK;

• The reintroduction of legal aid so refugees can afford to navigate the complicated process of being reunited with their families.

Ahead of the debate, Mhairi Black MP, said:

“My SNP colleague Angus MacNeil MP has put lots of work and research into this bill. I have no doubt that this bill will help to improve the life’s of many people.

“Refugees should have the right to be with their family, the people that know them best and make them feel safe. But tragically, every single day refugee families already torn apart by conflict and war are being kept apart by restrictive UK rules. I have met with a number of Syrian Refugees who have been welcomed to Renfrewshire and the majority of them were disconnected from their close family members.”

“This urgently needs to change. I will be attending the Private Member’s Bill vote on 16 March and voting to bring refugee families together again.”

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said:

“Amnesty welcomes Mhairi Black MP’s commitment to safely reuniting refugees with their families in the UK.

“Child refugees are some of the most vulnerable in the UK. On their arrival they face a multitude of new struggles – a new language and culture, as well as the psychological fallout from suffering incredibly traumatic experiences back in their home country.

“It is perverse that families are being kept apart by arbitrary rules. This is not a political issue, it is a family issue.

“We now hope that MPs from across the political spectrum continue to show their support and send a message to the Government that refugees in this country should be reunited with their families.”

Angus MacNeil’s Private Member’s Bill is supported by Families Together, a coalition of organisations including Amnesty International, STAR Network, Refugee Council, UNHCR and the British Red Cross amongst others.