The UK government is choosing a “path of division” over migration, writes Carla Manso, communications manager at Rainbow Migration, for PinkNews.

Every two weeks, we welcome service-users to our office to come together and catch up on life, over tea and biscuits.

These support groups are not just gatherings, they are lifelines. It’s an opportunity for LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum to meet others navigating similar challenges, and to begin building community and support networks that are vital to anyone starting life again in a new country.

At one of our recent support groups, a casework co-ordinator said “there were a couple of tears shed because everyone felt so safe and so welcome”, and they were “happy to be in a space where they could just speak and be free, a feeling of sisterhood and community”.

That feeling isn’t limited to our office. The support groups are a living testament to what community means to us as an organisation, but so are the experiences of many of the LGBTQ+ people we have supported over the years.

A year ago, Asal, a deaf, non-binary lesbian from the Middle East, and her partner attended Pride in London and London Trans+ Pride with us. They said this was the first time they had felt celebrated for their relationship and gender identities.

Taim, a trans man from Saudi Arabia, was granted refugee status, having faced many challenges after arriving in the UK. He is now working as a volunteer for various queer and local community projects.

Mina, a lesbian from Uganda, told us that we had provided not just legal support but a sense of community and belonging. A reminder that her journey, though painful, was not unique.

And yet, despite these stories of community building, we watch with growing alarm as this government chooses the path of division, scapegoating people seeking safety here.

It is heartbreaking to see the rhetoric of hostility and criminalisation return, echoing the darkest moments of past governments, at a time when [Labour] should be leading with compassion.

We hear talk of an “island of strangers” and of proposals to send people to countries where they have no connections, no support, no safety. These words dehumanise people who are part of the fabric of our communities.

Added to that is the recent outrageous Supreme Court ruling and this government’s response to it, which reinforced a narrow and harmful definition of womanhood that excludes trans, non-binary, gender-diverse and intersex people, and undermines existing protections.

For trans people seeking safety, who have fled violence and discrimination based on their gender identity, it signals that even here, the door to safety may be closing. It adds to the growing sense of not belonging.

Almost a year ago, people in the UK rejected cruelty at the general election. They voted for kindness, for a country where everyone can belong. This government must do the right thing: end the hostile rhetoric and start building an asylum and immigration system based on compassion and community.

As Pride month approaches, it’s paramount that we come together in solidarity, particularly for those who face oppression. Join us in calling on the government to listen to the voices of LGBTQ+ people seeking safety and to act by:

• Ending the detention of LGBTQ+ people, whose safety is put at risk in immigration
  detention
• Committing not to send people to countries where have no connections
• Committing not to send people back to countries that can be dangerous for LGBTQ+
  people, such as Georgia, India and Albania

This is a moment for us all to speak out, and show what true solidarity looks like.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

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