Children may be forcibly removed from the UK in handcuffs to “overcome non-compliance” as part of proposals the Home Office is considering to send more asylum-seeking families back to their home countries.
Since taking office, the government has committed to deporting more migrants and has increased both voluntary and forced returns, although some of those who left the UK voluntarily did so without informing the Home Office.
While some migrant families are removed each year, on Thursday the Home Office announced a new pilot scheme targeting 150 families in the asylum system – mainly those whose claims have been rejected – for accelerated voluntary removals with enhanced cash payments of £10,000 per person up to £40,000 per family.
Families will have only seven days to decide whether or not to accept the offer. If they refuse, the forced expulsion procedure will begin. According to a new consultation document, proposals could include handcuffing children who resist being put on a plane and sent back to their home country.
A mother who received a pro forma email from the Home Office on Thursday morning sobbed after reading it. He claims his asylum application was unsuccessful and has now been “concluded”. He adds that even families who have pending applications with the Home Office will be encouraged to leave.
She said: “My home country will not be safe for me. My family’s safety is more important than money.”
The email says: “Act now to request help to avoid possible forced removal from the UK.”
Families are invited to tap a button in the email to agree to leave the UK quickly. Officials say the money can be used to help families find a place to live, support their children’s education or provide funds to start a business.
The Home Office’s consultation document, Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns, states that, unlike previous guidance, the use of force, including handcuffing children, could be used for the purpose of effecting removal, not just to protect children from the risk of harming themselves or others.
The document continues: “This means that physical management of a child as a last resort to overcome noncompliance is an unfortunate but necessary and justified intervention.”
Griff Ferris, spokesperson for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “The levels of violence and dehumanization that this government will go to in persecuting immigrants are terrifying. We can never allow this to become normal. Stand up for the people in your local communities, join your local anti-raid group and boycott corporations that profit from border regimes, deportations and detentions.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “A forced return will always be a last resort. But we must enforce our rules and we will return those who have no right to be in this country, as long as it is safe to return to their country of origin.
“We are now consulting on how to do this humanely and effectively. Similar legal arrangements around children already exist across the public sector.”
