UK
Mahmood’s asylum shake-up will cause ‘lasting harm’ to refugees, Jewish charity fears
‘We have to wonder what such policies would have meant for Jewish refugees who arrived here’, HIAS+JCORE said
November 21, 2025 10:23
‘We have to wonder what such policies would have meant for Jewish refugees who arrived here’, HIAS+JCORE said
November 21, 2025 10:23Radical Home Office reforms to the UK asylum system will cause "lasting harm" to refugee communities, a Jewish humanitarian charity that works with asylum seekers and refugees fears.
Announced by the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday, the sweeping reforms will include making refugee status temporary and subject to review every 30 months, limiting the process for appealing against refusals of asylum and threatening visa bans on countries that block returns.
HIAS+JCORE – a partnership between the Jewish Council for Racial Equality and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society – which supports refugees has added its voice to the hundreds of charities that have expressed opposition to the shake-up, described by the Government as the biggest package of reforms to the asylum system in “modern history", warning it will “make life harder for those who need sanctuary and fray our social fabric”.
Responding to Mahmood’s announcement, the charity said: "At a time when the far-right is emboldened, the government’s plans threaten to deepen the sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ that such movements thrive on.
"Ending the permanence of refuge, threatening to remove support from destitute people, introducing startlingly long routes to citizenship – each of these measures will only make life harder for those who need sanctuary and fray our social fabric.”
It continued: "We know first-hand that the young people we are proud to support have often already faced unimaginable cruelty and instability. These proposals could mean that they never truly feel secure and settled in the UK."
The charity also stressed how Britain had acted as a “safe haven” for Jewish refugees, and that the community has a special interest in ensuring the country can serve as a “sanctuary” for today’s refugees.
"We have to wonder what such policies would have meant for Jewish refugees who arrived here in the 19th and 20th centuries,” HIAS+JCORE said.
"The context is of course very different, yet it is largely because of the enduring safe haven that this country provides that the British Jewish community thrives today.
"Our treatment of people seeking asylum and refugees is a litmus test for our society but while our government may be failing, we will continue to stand with people who need sanctuary – just as Jewish communities have for many decades."
Under the new proposals, almost two million legal migrants who arrived in the UK from 2021 must have stayed in the country for at least 10 years to be considered for settled status.
Those who came to the UK on health and social care visas between 2022 and 2024 will be subject to a 15-year wait for permanent settlement.
Migrants who have come to the UK legally and are reliant on benefits could have to wait up to 20 years wait for settlement – four times the current period and the longest wait in Europe – and those who came illegally could have to wait for up to 30 years.
Mahmood said: "Migration will always be a vital part of Britain’s story but the scale of arrivals in recent years has been unprecedented.
"To settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege – and it must be earned.
"I am replacing a broken immigration system with one that prioritises contribution, integration and respect for the British sense of fair play."
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
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