Britain’s Borders Bill Will Institutionalize Second-Class Citizenship for Immigrants
Britain’s Tory government is passing legislation allowing it to deprive people of their citizenship at will. The law is a particular threat to those with immigrant backgrounds — and sends the message that they'll never be considered truly British.
A UK Border Force patrol boat carries migrants picked up at sea on arrival at the Marina in Dover, southeast England. (Ben Stansall / AFP via Getty Images)
In the last few days, there’s a sense of palpable anxiety among my friends from ethnic minority and Muslim backgrounds in response to the revelations about Priti Patel’s plans to pass legislation allowing her to revoke British citizenship without notice. “We’re worried,” they tell me; “This will have a devastating impact,” another says.
Not worrying is a luxury, because it’s non-white citizens and Muslims, particularly, who will be worst affected by the home secretary’s latest draconian policy — one the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has called a “profoundly racist law.”
Clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, which was quietly added on ahead of its reading in the House of Commons this week, would exempt the government from having to inform someone when depriving them of their citizenship if it is not “reasonably practicable” to do so, or in the interests of national security, diplomatic relations, or perceived to be in another kind of “public interest.”
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