To: Rt. Hon. Suella Braverman MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department

Dear Home Secretary,

We are writing to express our strong opposition to this Government's actions toward refugees. Every refugee should be met with compassion and protection regardless of the journey they take here to the UK, and what they need most now are new routes to sanctuary.

You have recognised the vital importance of safe routes and yet the Government is consistently failing to offer enough new safe routes for refugees to reach sanctuary in the UK. This is devastating news for refugees across Europe and around the world.

We ask that you help refugees in Europe by providing new safe routes for them to reach safety in the UK. Safe routes are the best way to prevent people from being forced into the back of lorries or onto small boats across the Channel. For refugees fleeing danger and persecution, safe routes also offer the opportunity to reunite with family, and rebuild lives with dignity.

We are asking you to urgently make changes now to deliver on the safe routes you promised.  

First, offer child refugees quick and easy ways to reunite with family in the UK, with ambitious reforms to family reunification rules. All families should be together, but the proposals suggest that you are considering making it harder for families to reunite. The existing rules on family reunion already keep too many families apart, and this needs to change.  

Second, establish new schemes to relocate refugees and offer them sanctuary in the UK, including those without family links here. Having fled war and persecution, there are refugees right now stuck on the streets of Calais or in refugee camps on Greek islands – nobody can call that safe.

In addition to new safe routes, you must end the cruel punishment of refugees (such as banishing them to Rwanda) by upholding their rights to seek protection in the UK.

Your actions shamefully undermine our proud tradition of providing sanctuary to those who turn to us for protection. We urge you to re-think this approach and focus on delivering safe routes for all those who need them. Please don’t close the door on refugees.  

Yours sincerely,

Safe Passage