Refugees: neither threats or victims
Assets: our Folkestone young people volunteer to clean the River Dour in Dover
By Razia, KRAN CEO
The ground shifts yet again underneath our young people's feet and any hope of a certain and stable future is undermined - not by war and persecution, but a UK government policy.
However, we remain adamant that KRAN will continue to be here for our young people, work in solidarity with the local community and collaborate nationally with other organisations in the sector and beyond. All this with the voices of those with lived experience at the heart of what we do.
The shift in policy, the media narrative and the public view is not unique to the UK. The EU, which passed its Migration and Asylum PACT in 2024 Common Implementation Plan to turn the Pact on Migration and Asylum into a reality - Migration and Home Affairs, is currently passing legislation to deport refused claims to third countries, with no right of appeal.
It is also intensifying data collection - including of minors - as EU borders are tightened, and being used to control migrants’ movement. The emphasis is on survey and control through capturing their identity, their biometrics and undertaking security checks. As part of the Dublin Convention, once refused refugee status in any European member state, they can only claim asylum in the UK or outside the EU.
From the EU, the UK is suggesting an increasing use of AI for age assessments which is of concern to the sector Artificially Intelligent, Genuinely Harmful: AI and Age Assessments in the UK Asylum System – Right to Remain, from independent inspectorates Age assessments: ICIBI report and use of AI - GMIAU and as part of parliamentary evidence submissions by academics committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/148041/pdf/.
Refugee Action's policy strategy unit has undertaken a recent review: Asylum is a front line for racial justice - Refugee Action. This evidences how trends in policy making are criminalising the “other” and externalising borders, blurring crime and migration. In effect “organised abandonment” (R Gilmore), where structural state mechanisms control and protect capitalism from the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.
Latest figures suggest an overall fall in net migration into the UK, but asylum applications and small boat crossings have continued to increase Tracking UK migration: Small boats, asylum hotels and visas - BBC News.
Unfortunately, public understanding remains polarised and influenced more by the media and rhetoric than facts. The British Futures recent report Noise and Nuance highlights the rise of rejectionism - a growing aggrieved vocal minority which sees no positive impacts from migration, but also a “balanced middle” which recognises the pressures and gains that migration can bring.
The report calls for a more constructive, transparent, humane immigration systems that commands public confidence in a polarised political climate.
So, the recent Labour Government policy announcement Restoring Order and Control has not only been supported by the Far Right, but been called out as a violation of fundamental human rights by Amnesty International Government Immigration and Asylum Proposals. The Immigration Law Practitioner Association (ILPA) has asked for safe uncapped humanitarian safe routes, higher quality and timely decision making, policies that support integration and a recommitment to the international obligation to Human Rights Statement of Consensus, November 2025 - ILPA.
This is a new era for the young people KRAN supports who are seeking safety in the UK. They no longer have the rights to refuge as laid out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
So, for young people fleeing persecution:
there are no legal and safe routes for minors who attempt to cross the channel who have witnessed police brutality on the French and Belgium borders daily (Project Play We Want to Be Safe | Project Play Website)
they are being arrested and detained on arrival because of the way they arrived in the UK to claim asylum
they are being age assessed as older than 18 and sent to adult accommodation by untrained Border Force staff - see the recent debate in the House of Lords Baroness Neuberger extracts from Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (8th September 2025)
they are being denied refugee status even though they are from a country known to have a violent state (eg Afghanistan UK's Afghan Limbo: Thousands Stuck Without Status or Path Forward).
And under the new policy, they can potentially be deported back to their homeland which they escaped from, or a third “safe” country; they may not be supported if they become destitute; they will be unable to settle in the UK having their status reviewed every 30 months. The list goes on.....
This is indeed a bleak time for young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. We must all join in raising a critical mass across sectors and communities to stop this shift, pandering to the minority uninformed public consent. Framing refugees either as a threat or a victim is not the answer.
We need to re-evaluate our commitment to the morals, values and principles of human rights and offer dignity and sanctuary to those fleeing persecution. We should see them as assets rather than a drain on society and support them as they transition to life in the UK so that they can thrive and contribute to our society.