Today in Parliament, I presented a petition urging the Government to reverse it’s decision to increase the minimum income threshold for family visas to £38,700.  The reforms are deeply discriminatory and would be in violation of existing human rights legislation, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), of which the UK is a signatory. The ECHR grants everyone the right to family life. These changes may impede on this right by separating families, therefore barring working migrants within the UK from the right to family life.

The Tories are once again scapegoating migrants for the issues caused by over a decade of Conservative austerity. Immigration is an issue that the British public care about, but it is wrong and deeply troubling that this Government works endlessly to demonise migrants.  By stripping these overseas workers of the dignity to apply to bring a loved one with them, these changes only serve only to undermine their outstanding contributions. We should be encouraging all people to work within our brilliant NHS, which we owe thanks to many overseas workers for helping to keep our NHS running.

I am also gravely concerned of the discriminatory impact these changes will have on British Asians, as statistics show that those of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage have the lowest median hourly pay of any ethnic group in the UK. This will only further embolden the hostile environment the Tories have continued to endorse during their time in government and it is deeply unfair that once again, the Tories are demonising British Asians who work tirelessly to contribute to our country.

These plans are nothing more than a poorly thought out pacifier to appease the hard right-wing of the Tory party and could have a serious detrimental impact to hardworking migrants in the UK if enacted. It must be scrapped immediately.

You can read my full speech here or watch me present my petition here.