The Home Secretary Suella Braverman has warned in a speech in the United States that failing to control migration poses an “existential challenge” to the West.
‘Unless we act, it will only worsen in the years to come.’ she told the audience at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington DC.
She argued the international community had “collectively failed to explore any serious reform of the global asylum framework,” in part because of the “fear of being branded a racist or illiberal.” the
Seeking refuge in the first safe country you reach, or shopping around for your preferred destination are not the same thing.’ she added
The Home Secretary had earlier faced criticism for suggesting that fleeing discrimination for being gay should not be enough to qualify for asylum in the UK.
Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd said that Homosexuality is criminalised and even subject to the death penalty in many countries. It’s a fact that LGBT+ people make up a tiny proportion of asylum claims and accused Braverman of choosing dog whistle politics and blaming everyone else for problems of her own making.
During the speech Braverman claimed that UK police chiefs have warned her of heightened levels of criminality connected to some small boat arrivals.
She warned that politicians need to question if the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention is “fit for our modern age” saying that the convention was an “incredible achievement” when it was signed after the Second World War, but that it has since created “huge incentives for illegal migration”.
