Amendments to Immigration Bill rejected
Changes to the Immigration Bill supported by Britain Yearly Meeting defeated
Five suggested amendments to the recent Immigration Bill, which were backed by Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) and the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN), were rejected in the House of Commons last week.
The amendments would have given asylum seekers permission to work after six months; allowed overseas domestic workers to change employer, but not work sector and to apply for annual visa extensions; and would have paved the way for automatic judicial oversight of immigration detention for the first time.
Another amendment introduced an absolute ban on the incarceration of pregnant women in immigration detention centres, and a final amendment would have required the UK to immediately accept 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children who have already made it to Europe.
The Bill, put down by the House of Lords with minimal changes, and will be reconsidered in the Commons early this month.
