Scrap section nine

Eleven local authorities have called on the Home Office to
rethink its policy of taking the children of failed asylum seekers
into care if they refuse to leave the country. Those councils are
to be congratulated for raising their heads above the parapet
especially in the current climate.

The draconian Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 section nine pilot
project should be halted immediately. It was a bad idea right from
the start and the experience of one unfortunate Bolton family
highlights why. Ngiedi Lusukumu, the mother of six children (the
youngest of whom is a seven-month-old baby) was ordered to return
to the Democratic Republic of Congo. That is the country where war
has claimed about three million lives and which has witnessed what
has been described as “the worse emergency to unfold in Africa in
recent decades”. Who can blame a mother for not wanting to take her
children there?

But the authorities have rejected her claim for asylum, withdrawn
her support and now threaten to take her children away. This
blatant attempt to coerce a vulnerable family is unworthy of a
civilised society.

What an ideal case for England’s new children’s commissioner to
look into and ensure that the best interests of those children are
upheld.