The proliferation of harsh policies to make the UK a ‘hostile environment’ for undocumented immigrants led to inexcusable treatment not only of the children of the Windrush generation, but also of people from other Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries.
This is according to a January 2020 briefing paper from the House of Commons on the Windrush scandal.
This briefing also finds that:
- The circumstances which led to the Windrush scandal had existed for at least several years before the scandal broke. Some of the Windrush generation began to experience difficulties well before 2010.
- The Home Office had ignored clear warnings that members of the Windrush generation were being denied their rights. The Public Accounts Committee stated the scandal demonstrated a lack of concern about the real-world impact of the Government’s immigration policies, compounded by their systematic failure to keep accurate records.
- The Home Office’s Windrush Scheme and Windrush Compensation Scheme have been criticised for not adequately tackling the underlying systematic issues that led to the initial problem.
- EEA nationals living in the UK before Brexit, undocumented children and Chagos Islanders are stated as groups who potentially could face similar difficulties.
