Susan Moore The Immigration & Asylum Bill has now almost completed its stages through the House of Lords and the government intend it to receive Royal Assent debate in the House of Lords may However the have upset their plans. On the one hand the Lords passed government amendments making the Bill even more draconian: but on the other they threw out the immediate introduction of vouchers to replace cash benefits. Government ministers showed their and ruthless the determination by tabling last minute amendments to the Bill to allow deportation orders to Do issued before an asylum claim is The amendments will allow the Home Office to issue retrospective deportation orders on Asylum Seckers who made claims from July 1993 but have not yet had ment was sent back to the House of Lords by 129 votes to 47.
John Stewart, for the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, said: Ine Home Office seem determined to deport appeals people as fast as they can. This latest amendment indicates thes 1990s. are prepared to trample all over the tradition of natural justice' in their determination to kick poople out of the UK."
The Bishop Southwark, Thomas Butler moved an amendment, which he said would delay introduction until the government had ful- The filled its promise to speed up the processing or asylum applications. He argued that it would not be right for asylum seekers to be left to sufier for years on a care In the package designed for only a few Tory and Liberal Democrat sit bend to racism peers joined forces to support the gone on amendment, which was carried by 161 votes to 116, a majority of 45 on October 20. ¿ nis would mean that asylum seckers would be eligible for existing social security benefits until the gor. ernment clears the backlog of which currently stretches back as far as the carly The government's target is to process appeals in six months. It may well be that these devel. opments in the upper House will stimulate a belated Labour backbench revolt when the returns to the Commons in the next couple of weeks.
Home Secretary, Jack Straw, narrowly averted a rebel. lion before the summer recess by to the levels of support made to asylum seekers with children.
meantime a member of the Coalition for Asylum and Immigration Rights (CAIR) has end to racism 106 1 h" week long hunger strike in protest against the dra- Bralo 0171 701 5197 conian measures in the Bill. Others will join her on rolling 24 hour hunger strikes. ingham B21 1 NH The hunger strike will end at a protest opposite Downing St on Wednesday 27th October E-mail: • Further details from: Zrinka CAIR can be contacted at: NCADC 101 Villa Road, Birm• NAAR 26 Commercial St, London E1 6LS 0 c/o NCADC [email protected] SOM flic he югі aid ,COf i fo my хат pla 72l al 1 the
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