HOSTILE environment policies put the lives of migrants at risk during the pandemic, a new report has found. 

The report, jointly authored by the Public Interest and Law Centre and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, recommends that the upcoming public Covid-19 inquiry should consider how immigration policies have potentially exposed migrants to greater risk during the pandemic.

The report, published earlier this week, found that hostile environment policies in healthcare, including NHS charging, deterred people from seeking medical help during the pandemic. 

The government’s refusal during the pandemic to lift the no-recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition, which bars most migrants from accessing the majority of benefits, meant that many were also left without a safety net, the report states. 

It also cites research by the Migrants Rights Network which found that 14 per cent of people with NRPF were unable to pay their rent or mortgage on time during the pandemic, compared with 2 per cent of people without the restriction. 

PILC solicitor Ellen Fotherinham said: “This report shows that, throughout the pandemic, the government repeatedly ignored experts and cast aside commitments to public health and fundamental rights in order to drive through an anti-migrant agenda. 

“Such conduct should be of grave concern to everyone in the UK.”

The report also claims that failures to adapt the immigration system to the challenges of the pandemic, including staff shortages, resulted in a “huge increase in the backlog of Home Office applications.”

This, the report says, has trapped “significant numbers of people in legal limbo and/or destitution, with many left with no choice but to either pay huge sums or endanger their health to progress their applications.”

JCWI policy and advocacy adviser Caitlin Boswell said: “It’s time this government learned lessons from the pandemic and stopped playing fast and loose with migrant and refugees’ lives. 

“That’s why we’re calling on the PM to ensure the inquiry considers the impact of the hostile environment, and the experiences of all migrants – including those who are undocumented.”

A government spokesperson said: “We prioritised safeguarding people from risks to public health during the pandemic and made measures available to undocumented migrants, including accessing testing, treatment, vaccinations and boosters for Covid 19.

“The UK has a proud history of welcoming those in need and our Nationality and Borders Act will create an immigration system that is fair but firm, welcoming those in genuine need but cracking down on those who come to the UK illegally.”