The Home Office’s plan to publish data on the nationalities of people designated as “foreign” criminals risks obscuring rather than shedding light on truth and injustice (Cooper ‘pandering’ to Farage by ordering publication of foreign criminals’ nationalities, 22 April).
Many people wrongly designated as foreign are born in this country, have always lived here and have the legal right to British citizenship. These individuals are as British as any of their peers, but due to their parents’ immigration status, they were not automatically granted British citizenship at birth. Instead, they have needed someone to take steps to register their right from early childhood to that nationality.
It would be far more useful if ministers considered collecting data on how many people legally entitled to British citizenship are still designated as “foreign”. That data should include a racial context to help assess the disproportionate impact on Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities, fulfilling the government’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Publishing nationality data as currently planned will misrepresent these individuals twice over – first, by labelling them as foreign, despite their deep ties to this country, and second, by associating them with countries with which have little or no connection. We urge the government to reconsider this approach and instead develop policies that respect and promote equality rather than fostering more misunderstanding and division.
Solange Valdez-Symonds
CEO, Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens
Steve Valdez-Symonds
Programme director, Amnesty International UK
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