27 March 2020 An Open Letter to the Prime Minister of the UK and the Taoiseach of Ireland
We call upon the British and Irish States to act immediately so that all undocumented, destitute and migrant people in the legal process in both the UK and Ireland are granted Status Now, as in *Indefinite Leave to Remain. In this way every human, irrespective of their nationality or citizenship can access healthcare, housing, food and the same sources of income from the State as everyone else.
[*The word ‘Indefinite’ was added to the call in our second letter, dated 27 March 2021: https://statusnow4all.org/open-letter2-to-the-prime-minister-of-the-uk-and-the-taoiseach-of-ireland/]
This is the letter in full below – we have not yet received an answer:
RE: ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, HOUSING AND FOOD FOR ALL
#healthandsafetyforall
cc: UK Home Secretary and UK Health Secretary,
Irish Health Secretary and Irish Minister for Justice and Equality,
All UK MPs,
All Members of the Irish Parliament (the Oireachtas),
All Leaders and CEOs of Local Authorities and Health Services in the UK,
All CEOs of Councils and Health Services in Ireland,
Professor Neil Ferguson, Imperial College, London,
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Ireland
Prof Ruairi Brugha, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology, Ireland
Dear Sirs
RE: ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, HOUSING AND FOOD FOR ALL
We call upon the British and Irish States to act immediately so that all undocumented, destitute and migrant people in the legal process in both the UK and Ireland are granted Status Now, as in Leave to Remain. In this way every human, irrespective of their nationality or citizenship can access healthcare, housing, food and the same sources of income from the State as everyone else.
Everyone has the right to be in an environment where they can follow the Public Health directives necessary to limit COVID19 viral transmission to the absolute minimum and to care for themselves, their loved ones and their living and working communities.
It is imperative – being in everyone’s best interests – that the basic needs of all are met.
People living in extreme poverty and/or destitution and/or without immigration status in the UK or Ireland and/or without access to the NHS or the Irish Health System:
- Are unable to socially isolate as needed
- Cannot access health care, and income and other social support
- Cannot contribute openly and without fear, to making the population as safe as possible, alongside everyone else.
Key Points
- Currently, migrant people who are in the legal system cannot keep physically safe on their allowances, because those allowances don’t amount to enough money to eat healthily, or buy and apply appropriate cleaning materials, and many are living in accommodation where they cannot socially isolate as they may want and need to.
- People who are destitute and/or undocumented and living in the shadows fear what will happen to them if they identify themselves, cannot access healthcare, emergency shelter and food, nor report or seek protection from domestic violence, rape, exploitation and other abuses – levels of which are already rising.
Please direct your responses, as a matter of urgency obviously, to admin(at)rapar.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Here is the list of Signatories Organisations to the Status Now Campaign: https://statusnow4all.org/signatory-organisations-to-the-status-now-campaign/
Status Now 4 All is well overdue, especially given the extent of the systemic and decades long history of the socio-economic disadvantages endured by undocumented, destitute and migrant people which have now been glaringly exposed by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the George Floyd murder linked calls by the Black Lives Matter movement.