Efforts to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel through the threat of deportation may not be having the intended effect (Report, May 3), according to the latest figures.
Whatever the outcomes of the new nationality and borders bill, we must remind ourselves that we are concerned with human lives and not statistics or political pawns. These are people who fled their home countries to seek safety in the face of unimaginable circumstances far beyond their control. As Warsan Shire, the Somali-British writer, says in her poem: “No one puts their child in a boat, unless the water is safer than the land.”
Seeking asylum is a human right: a recent Law Society poll shows the British public recognise this fundamental right and stand against punishing those who have arrived here in search of sanctuary, and we agree.
Caroline O’Connor
Chief Executive, Migrant Help
London EC1, UK