After 100,000 people signed a Parliamentary e-petition advocating for the rights of undocumented people living in the UK, MPs gathered for a Westminster Hall debate. Although these debates do not directly lead to the creation or reform of policy, they are a chance to MPs to speak up for their constituents, and get a response from the relevant Government Minister.
Over 800 of you wrote to your MP inviting them to turn up and speak out and we were pleased that half of the speakers in the debate had been invited by you. We were so pleased to hear so many of the issues we have raised together getting air time – thank you for making this happen! You can watch the debate back on Parliament TV or read what was said in Hansard, but here are a few highlights:
How the immigration system makes people undocumented
Many of the MPs referenced our research, We Are Here. One of our findings came up a lot; 82% of those in our surveys entered the UK through legal routes and later fell out of st…