Haringey Welcome is delighted that Haringey Council has pledged not to
collaborate in Home Office plans to deport people sleeping rough.
In a tweet on Tuesday 16th , the Council announced:
This is great news for many vulnerable people in the borough, and for
everyone who cares about the dignity and welfare of our fellow
residents. You can read the full statement from Cllr Emine Ibrahim here.
Background: On 6 July the Guardian revealed a secret Home Office
plan to use charity outreach workers to acquire the personal details of
rough sleepers they encountered and pass this information to the Home
Office. This plan ignores EU laws on privacy, and threatens the
confidential relationship between workers who need to gain the trust of
those they try to help, and people sleeping rough who do not have
citizenship. The plan is seen as the next phase in the government’s
hostile environment policy.
This followed an earlier attempt by the Home Office to deport homeless
EU rough sleepers, which was ruled unlawful in 2017.
On 27 November 2018 Haringey Council passed unanimously a motion
deploring the hostile environment and pledging to audit their own
services to ensure they treat everyone with respect and dignity.
Haringey Welcome campaigns against the hostile environment and to
ensure that our borough is welcoming to all. If you are re a local resident, please sign our pledge.