Hundreds of US residents apply for asylum in UK with one in seven claims granted
Hundreds of US residents have utilized for asylum within the UK – with one in seven claims granted, shock figures present.
Analysis by The Mirror discovered 434 Americans have utilized for refugee standing between 2014 and final spring, and dozens got depart to stay. These embrace two – a boy aged below 18 and a person in his 50s or 60s – whose asylum purposes had been permitted early final yr.
Home Office figures present that 59 individuals from the US have been granted refugee standing or related protections up to now decade, whereas an extra six got different varieties of depart to stay. This means nearly 15% of claims had been profitable.
Immigration skilled Prof Thom Brooks mentioned he was puzzled by the variety of Americans making use of for asylum. He had queried why Rwandans had been being granted asylum if the Government maintained it was a protected nation – solely to be advised by his native MP, Paul Howell, that “nationals from some of the UK’s closest allies” have claims permitted.
When Donald Trump was President between 2017 and 2020, 171 asylum claims had been made by Americans. In 2022 there have been 35 claims, of which 9 had been profitable. Prof Brooks mentioned: “These findings raise new questions about which countries are deemed ‘safe’ and safe for who, if not safe for all. It’s further evidence these plans are not worked out properly with potentially serious future consequences.”
A US embassy spokeswoman advised The Mirror: “The UK, just like every country, has the sovereign right to grant asylum based on their own internal processes and the circumstances of individual applicants. We would refer you to HMG for inquiries on how they make the determination of asylum for American citizens and citizens of countries around the world.”
Tim Naor Hilton, chief govt of Refugee Action, mentioned: “People who claim asylum have the right to a fair hearing, no matter where they are from or how they got here.”
The US is classed as a protected nation by the Home Office – which means individuals whose asylum claims are refused could be returned there. It is assumed the overwhelming majority of these whose purposes are permitted are dependents of profitable asylum seekers from different nations.
A Home Office spokeswoman mentioned: “People from many different nationalities apply for asylum in the UK. All asylum applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and the granting of asylum does not mean that an individual’s home country is unsafe more broadly.”
