Hidden victims of the Windrush scandal in Wales are said to be living in “terror” without the British citizenship they are entitled to.
Hilary Brown, a Welsh lawyer who is helping Windrush clients pro bono, believes more are affected and is urging them to come forward. She said it was especially urgent now during the pandemic.
“This scandal has not gone away," she said.
"I had another client granted citizenship last week which shows it is still current. I would suspect people affected are not accessing healthcare.
“This is terrifying for people. They are of an age. They have seen reports of people being removed and deported and they are terrified to come forward. I know there are people in Wales terrified to come forward. More than 40 people have contacted me saying they are affected, but too scared to do anything."
She said those affected had lived, worked and had families here.
“These are people in their 50s, 60s and 70s who came here as children or young adults
“You have people who have been here since the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s who left Jamaica to come here and have not travelled since and have never applied for a passport so they are still Jamaican, but always had the entitlement to become British.
“People are absolutely terrified to come forward. These are older people and are frightened to disclose all this to their families,”
One of those people is a Welsh NHS worker in her 50s who recently became “destitute” and jobless. She got a new job, but was unable to provide immigration documentation they now demand.
In another case a grandfather was wrongly told he had no right to remain and to report to the Home Office centre in Newport Road in Cardiff because he didn’t have a passport. Both came to the UK legally, have been here since they were children, went to school, worked, paid taxes and had families here.
The lawyer said children of some of her clients had also been refused entry into university as home students after their parents were unable to provide a British birth certificate. This would mean they would have to pay international student fees.
In the last two years Ms Brown’s Barry-based law firm Virgo Consultancy has helped more than 20 people from the Windrush generation in Wales get the British citizenship they are entitled to, but she warned: “There will be more and this is so far reaching and is a much bigger issue than how many I have helped."
The UK Government consultation to find people affected announced it was closed without coming to Wales, according to Ms Brown. When she saw this she wrote urgently to the Home Office and consultations were then run, with her help, in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport last year.
But she said there was a huge backlog of cases still to be resolved across the UK, including in Wales, with policies that led to the scandal still in place.
Explaining the process people could go through to resolve the matter, she said it was daunting for some, especially older people, and there were three separate applications for a biometric card, citizenship and compensation. Biometric cards show the holder has leave to remain and replaced the previous passport visa stamp saying so.
Immigration is not devolved so the Welsh Government is not responsible, but Ms Brown has sent ministers here copies of representations she has made to the British Government.
She urged people affected to seek help as quickly as possible.
“We have seen generations caught up in the hostile environment. For obvious reasons people need to get help.”
The lawyer said she did not know of any cases of people from Wales being deported as a result of the scandal, but said people often didn’t understand the difference between being deported and “removed”
“You are “removed” if it is considered you have no reason to continue to live in the UK, you don’t have a visa and so are asked to leave, but are not banned from coming back.
“Deportation is allied to criminal offence where the Secretary of State considers you continuing to live in the UK is no longer conducive and you are banned from ever coming back. I don’t know of any (Windrush) cases in Wales.”
The Home Office response
The Home Office said it had run over 120 outreach and engagement events for those affected across the country. In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, these have been hosted digitally since May. Further information on digital engagement events can be found here
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are determined to right the wrongs of the Windrush generation and ensure that people get the documentation and compensation they deserve.
“The Windrush Scheme has issued more than 13,300 documents, providing 11,500 people with confirmation of their status or British citizenship. Our compensation scheme has also paid out or offered more than £2.5million, and more offers are being made every single week.
“Our Windrush Help Team are available to anyone who needs free help and advice for themselves and their families. We have been clear that no information provided to them will be passed to immigration enforcement."
