Asylum Seekers in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Asylum Seekers in the United Kingdom Introduction: By asylum seeker is referred to an individual who has applied for asylum in the country such that he can be accepted by the countrymen and recognized as a person in exile. However the acceptance of such application may take time, or at times may even be rejected. In such case if the individual still enters the country and stays in there, it may be said that he/she has forcefully entered the country (Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment 2009). In the present times, the applications of asylum seekers and the UK government trying to deal with them have become significant issues for the country (Blinder 2012). Figure 1: Asylum seeker applications in the UK during 2000-2009 (Topic guide to: Immigration Control and Asylum n.d.). This figure clearly reflects on the fact that the degree to which immigrants applied for asylum seeking in the UK has drastically minimized over the years. The present study would discuss why and how this has been possible, and whether the English law has been successful in dealing with asylum seekers effectively. The present study focuses on an understanding of the concept of asylum seeking in the UK by individuals and discusses the fact that the legal system offered by the English Law on the issue of illegal asylum seekers is not sufficient in taking the correct decisions in regard to the asylum seekers. This considers the difficulty that the asylum seekers are encountered with in order to make their places in the country, as well as the ignorance of the law to assist these people, and hence the consequences of suffering of these people or their forceful entry into the country. Asylum Seekers in the UK: In the UK, generally the asylum seekers have to wait for around 2 months to even 6 years before their claims are accepted or refused. If the refugees have chosen UK, it is likely that they have someone known in the country. Any customary and obligatory introduction program is not provided by the UK for new arrivals in the country. For this reason, refugees and asylum seekers are required to get hold of information about livelihood and work in the UK from their own sources and any networks that exist and can help them out with guidance (Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment 2009). In the UK, in the present times, the UK Border Agency (BIA) supports the asylum seekers. The policy of the BIA allows offering all the asylum seekers facilities of accommodation on a basis of no-choice. The asylum seekers need to qualify when they first apply for the asylums in order to get the initial facilities of accommodation in the country. After a few weeks, the accommodations for the asylum seekers may be changed. “This can include living in a community or being detained in an immigration detention centre” (Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment 2009). In UK, “out of 500,000 migrants to the UK in 2007, only 23,430 were applications for asylum (falling from a peak of 84,000 in 2002)” (The health needs of asylum seekers n.d.). The basic process of the asylum seekers claiming for asylums can be understood by the following chart: Figure 2: A basic overview of the asylum process (The health needs of asylum seekers n.d.). Asylum Seekers in the UK: Claims, Legal Implications, Supports, and Challenges: The handling of the asylum seekers in the UK has been questioned and improvements in the system have also been demanded for. The question arises with the correct decision making of the UK government in choosing the asylum seekers for their support or whether the government is lacking the correct measures in protecting the seekers, and instead avoiding the situations. While questions are raised in terms of giving the right opportunities to the right asylum seekers in the country, on the other hand, doubts have arisen with the providence of benefits to the asylum seekers for which individuals from other countries would claim more for asylums (Whittaker 2005). Figure 2: Initial Grants of Asylum, Grants of ELR/HP and DL, and Refusals 1997-2010 (Asylum: the outcome n.d.). From this figure it can be clearly obtained that the degree of asylum refusals in all these years has been highly greater than those that could be accepted. This could either imply that these people did not qualify for asylums in the country or that the law failed to decide effectively. Limiting the Asylum Seekers in the UK: With the English Law in place, in case of the applications that had no basis for seeking asylums in the country, fast track process has been initiated to reject such applications. Also, the law allows deporting any refused candidate to another country in case they have already entered UK. In the year 2004, the law initiated rulings that made it clear for the asylum seekers to be punished in prison by two years, in case they try to enter the country without any reasonable basis, and not having passport with him/her self. In order to prove the truth and the reasons of the applicants, credibility tests are conducted on them (Rabben 2011). If candidates who are refused for asylums in the country still do not return, the English law has made it clear not to provide such individuals with any financial support. Also, the work opportunities for the asylum seekers depend on the qualifications of such individuals thus making it stricter for the asylum seekers to make their living in the country. In the UK, the law makes use of the Refugee Convention to restrict and limit the asylum seekers in the country expecting only genuine immigrants to apply for the asylums in the country (Rabben 2011). Control over the Asylum Seekers: Based on the English law, it is not possible for asylum seekers to make their entry into the UK without arriving by air or the sea. The intentions of the UK government were to have their control on the asylum seekers trying to make their ways into the country with or without proper passport and visas, and the travel through air or seas. The British dealings with the seekers of asylum have been influenced largely due to the rigid independence that the country presented earlier to the immigrants of the country. Thus the asylum seekers take advantages of the benefits that they receive from the country and try to enter the country as a result of this (Gibney 2004). Acceptance or Refusal of Asylums in the UK: Thus the English Law in the UK considers allowing the asylum seekers in the country depending on whether they are ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’. However, deciding on who are deserving and who are not, is a matter of serious concern leading to individuals becoming victims, receiving punishments, or getting the names of welfare claimants. The problem with the asylum seekers mostly arise when they lack the proper documentation that is necessary for the process (Malloch and Stanley 2005). Moreover, the entry of the asylum seekers in the UK is considered to be threats for the country and its inhabitants in regard to security, stability as well as peace in the society. Over the years, these threats have led to intolerance in the minds of the people for asylum seekers, particular those who enter the country through illegal process (Malloch and Stanley 2005). In the present times, the issues of economic and social and moral well being of the UK and its people have been associated by the law with the prevention of the entry of asylum seekers in the country. Several claims have been denied to the applicants of asylums considering these factors. Also, the lack of the legal system is evident from the fact that several applications also succeed when they appeal for asylums in the country. This may imply that the primary decision making of the UK government to allow the seekers to entry the country may not be well-thought of (Malloch and Stanley 2005). Another two major reasons of dissatisfaction with the English law in regard to the asylum process in the UK include dispersal and detention. The asylum seekers who are not accepted are in most cases dispersed to other locations or countries and the UK government itself takes the responsibility to disperse these people from the UK. In many other cases, the individuals who forcefully try to enter the country are detained for a long period of time, often detaining their claims (Malloch and Stanley 2005). Thus it can be said that the UK government depending on the law, avoids the general principles of guiding and assisting the asylum seekers in their country, which in several times may lead to the asylum seekers forcefully making their ways into the country. Studies have revealed that the treatment of the asylum seekers in the UK is visibly different from those in the other countries. In here, the asylum seekers are seen equivalent to drug dealers or criminals of some sort which in unlike in other countries. Thus detentions and deterrence can be observed by the English law and the UK government against the individuals who seek for asylums in the UK. Thus often the asylum seekers are considered to be economic migrants that imply that they might have come to the country only to gain benefits (Webber n.d.). Difficulty for the Asylum Seekers: With such laws and rulings in place, it has become highly difficult and challenging for the asylum seekers to make their places, living and employment in the UK. If the UK government denies from providing guidance to the asylum seekers when their claims are rejected, it becomes the sole responsibility of the seekers to make their living in the country if they somehow forcefully stay in the country. These people encounter difficulties since they cannot avail the healthcare provisions which are otherwise provided to the asylum seekers in the country. Moreover, the use of different language also makes it difficult for them to accommodate with ease in this country (Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment 2009). These asylum seekers also encounter challenges in terms of getting to work in this country. More importantly, they may not feel the necessity to include learning as one of the major factors to work or get employment that is unlike to countries like UK where qualifications are necessary to get a job. Thus varying literacy also affects the living of the asylum seekers in the UK (Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment 2009). It has been focused lately that the treatment of the UK government in removing asylum seekers from the country has been significantly inhuman in several instances. As it can be realized assisting the asylum seekers is a social responsibility of every country and the English law has actually created such rules that can make the entire process stricter and more difficult for the asylum seekers in the UK (Humphries and Hayes 2004). No doubt that the number of asylum seekers in the UK is less than in other countries across the world. In this regard, it can be mentioned here that recent news have focused on the fact that there could be several cases related to asylum seekers in the UK where the seekers might have ignored the laws and the decisions of the rulings and have made their ways into the country illegally. A survey on these cases has reported that “of the 660,000 asylum cases dealt with between 1997 and 2010, just 40 per cent — or 243,000 — resulted in some form of shelter being granted. However, of the 417,000 decisions to be refused protection, only 151,540 – or 36 per cent – ended in someone leaving or being removed from the country, with the rest either fighting removal or staying illegally” (Whitehead 2011). Another case has been reported off lately that says that an asylum seeker whose application was rejected by the UK government had to be provided with a compensation package of twenty-four thousands pounds, since the individual suffered from subjection to slavery. The responsibility of the UK government in this case arose since the government could not protect the woman from slavery in its country towards an outsider. Initially the claim of the woman for application to asylum was rejected since she could not present the necessary documents. Moreover, she was proved to be a criminal. However, with her application being rejected, the woman had to make her living being a slave in the country for which ultimately the government had to arrange for compensating her damages (Doughty 2012). Conclusion: From the above study it can be concluded that the UK government has not been able to prove to be sufficient in making the correct decisions in regard to allowing or rejecting asylum seekers in the country, as was hypothesized in the beginning of the study. From the study, it could be obtained that there are severe lags in the rulings and laws conducted by the English law that does not allow the asylum seekers to make their places and living in this country. Their claims are in most cases rejected on grounds that are not reasonable like considering the well-being of the country, whereas assisting the asylum seekers proves to be a major social responsibility of the country. However, in certain cases, where the government might have conducted investigations and obtained false needs of any claimant trying to enter the country, rejection of the application might be considered to be a right decision, but in that case if the individuals are not dispersed to other locations, they would make their places in the country forcefully and hence asylum seekers would eventually fill the country, as has already been reported. Thus it can be concluded that the law of the country need to consider the needs of the asylum seekers significantly before rejecting their applications or ignoring them, and in case they are rejected, they should at least be taken care of such that they can make their places in some other region of the world and not struggle their living being asylum seekers. References Asylum: the outcome (n.d.) Migrationwatchuk. [Online]. Available at: http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefingPaper/document/238 [Accessed: 26 March 2013]. Blinder, S. (2012) UK Public Opinion toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level of Concern. [Online]. Available at: http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/uk-public-opinion-toward-immigration-overall-attitudes-and-level-concern [Accessed: 7 February 2013]. Doughty, S. (2012) Illegal immigrant and failed asylum seeker handed £24,000 by Human Rights judges after ‘British law failed to protect her from slavery’. Mail Online. [Online]. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232483/Illegal-immigrant-failed-asylum-seeker-handed-24k-EU-Human-Rights-judges.html [Accessed: 6 February 2013]. Gibney, M.J. (2004) The Ethics and Politics of Asylum: Liberal Democracy and the Response of Refugees. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Humphries, B. and D. Hayes (2004) Social Work, Immigration and Asylum: Debates, Dilemmas and Ethical Issues for Social Work and Social Care Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Malloch, M.S. and E. Stanley (2005) The detention of asylum seekers in the UK. Punishment Society, 7, p.53-71. [Online]. Available at: http://statecrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/stanley2005b.pdf [Accessed: 4 February 2013]. Rabben, L. (2011) Give Refuge to the Stranger: The Past, Present, and Future of Sanctuary. California: Left Coast Press. Refugees and asylum seekers in the UK: The challenges of accessing education and employment (2009) NIACE Briefing Sheet 91. [Online]. Available at: http://www.niace.org.uk/sites/default/files/91-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-in-the-uk.pdf [Accessed: 3 February 2013]. The health needs of asylum seekers (n.d.) Faculty of Public Health. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/bs_aslym_seeker_health.pdf [Accessed: 3 February 2013]. Topic guide to: Immigration Control and Asylum (n.d.) statistics. [Online]. Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/population/migration/immigration-control-and-asylum [Accessed: 3 February 2013]. Webber, F. (n.d.) 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