Amnesty International responded to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s speech at the Labour Party Conference, warning that framing immigration policy as a test of “toughness” risks undermining rights, fuelling division and leaving migrants and refugees as scapegoats. 

In her speech, the Home Secretary said indefinite leave to remain would become conditional on ten years’ residence and compulsory volunteering , measures Amnesty has described as unnecessary, unfair and discriminatory. 

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: 

“The Home Secretary may think that talking tough plays well to the gallery, but her real responsibility is to uphold rights and ensure policies are fair and workable. 

“Obstructing routes to settlement is not necessary or justified. It will keep people in the immigration system for years, forcing them to endure staggering costs, constant intrusion and prolonged uncertainty about their future. 

“It is incoherent to claim you want cohesion while scapegoating migrants and raising new barriers. Unity cannot be built by exclusion. 

“And it is disheartening that, even after more deaths in the Channel, the Home Secretary still does not see that blocking refugees’ journeys only empowers smuggling gangs and leaves people with no safe alternatives to dangerous crossings. 

“This continues a damaging pattern in UK politics: treating migrants and people seeking asylum as scapegoats for the country’s challenges. Rather than again making life harder for our friends, neighbours and colleagues the Home Secretary should be focused on making an immigration system that is fair, efficient and respectful of everyone’s rights.” 

Indefinite Leave to Remain and citizenship 

Amnesty warned against plans to double the wait for settlement and delay citizenship even longer, and to introduce conditions such as compulsory unpaid community service and recycle “earned citizenship” ideas abandoned over a decade ago as unworkable and unfair. Delaying settlement will keep people in the immigration system for years, paying thousands more in fees, dependent on the Home Office to deal with the many more applications they will be required to make to keep renewing their stay, and always at risk of losing their future in the UK. Conditions like mandatory volunteering will discriminate against carers, disabled people and people seeking asylum. Instead of promoting integration, these measures entrench exclusion and insecurity. 

Amnesty also warned that, even in the face of further deaths in the Channel, the Home Secretary continues to rely on rhetoric about “stopping the boats” rather than creating safe alternatives. Blocking refugees’ journeys does not end crossings, it empowers smuggling gangs and leaves people with no choice but to risk their lives on dangerous routes. The organisation said ministers should focus instead on expanding safe routes, upholding the UK’s obligations to protect people seeking asylum, and building cohesion by enabling refugees and migrants to settle and contribute fully to their communities. 

ENDS